Just a Kiss by e-chan16
by trekkifulron
Summary: This story was recommended but lost to the internets and re-discovered via the internet wayback machine. 'e-chan 16' was not asked about copying her(his?) story and if contacted I'll remove it.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Just a Kiss (Chapter 01 - The Question)

Author Name: e-chan16

Owl the author: here.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: OotP, HBP. Written between Order of Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.

Genre: Romance, Angst

Era: The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years

Main Character(s): H, Luna

Ship(s): H/Luna, Hr/R

Summary: One simple question: "Harry, what do you think about when you kiss Ginny?" That's when all the trouble started, and thanks to Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter's world is turned upside-down.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Notes:

Her black Mary Janes had smudges of dirt on them, and one of

her blue knee-his was sliding halfway down her leg; the sleeves of her white

dress shirt were rolled up to her elbows, and the collar was frayed; her

blue-and-silver-striped tie was hanging outside of her vest and was tied

wrongly so the end of her tie nearly touched her pleated skirt; she wore a

butterbeer cap necklace round her neck and her pale blond hair was slightly

messy, not that the girl cared or maybe even noticed.

Luna Lovegood was leisurely strolling through the dungeons

of Hogwarts to her next class (which she was about to be late for), when she

was waved to by none other than a Ginny Weasley, who in turn was with her

boyfriend, Harry Potter.

"Come on Luna!" Ginny cried, turned around and holding onto

Harry's hand. "We're about to be late for Slughorn-"

Luna just shook her head. Being on time for a particular

class had in fact not been a priority of

her for five years; not only would her grades not be a problem (Luna

always got O's and E's without much effort), but she's still rather take her

time. Luna found there was always something interesting to look at in the

castle, something she would have missed if she hurried.

Ah, here was one such thing. Ginny said, "See you in class

Luna!" quickly, then gave Harry a kiss and sped down the hallway, clutching her

Potions textbook.

"Hey, you know... Harry?" Luna was suddenly behind him.

Harry turned. "Yeah Luna?"

"What do you think about when you kiss Ginny?"

He blushed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what

kinds of thoughts, pictures, sounds, anything-whatever are you thinking about

on that particular moment when Ginny's lips touch your own?" Luna asked him

slowly, with a touch of airiness.

"Why?" Harry asked in turn, glad the hallways were nearly

empty and no one would be listening to this conversation.

Luna gave a bit of a smile. "I hope you don't mind, Harry,

but I am curious."

"Why?" Harry repeated, trying to understand. Hadn't Luna

ever-?

"Well, seeing as I haven't kissed so

much as most of the students here..." Luna trailed off, toying with her wand,

while watching a very timely passing couple going at it. "I just wanted to know

what its like," she finished, sticking her wand behind her ear.

"You probably shouldn't do that," said Harry, reaching

forward to take her wand while Luna watched him mildly. "Better wizards have

lost buttocks, you know," he added with a laugh, remembering one of Mad-Eye

Moody's warnings.

Luna looked perturbed. "But what does my wand have to do

with buttocks, Harry?"

"Nothing," said Harry hastily, realizing what he'd just

said, and deciding to just take the first 'embarrassing Harry Potter challenge'

over the other. "What do I think about when I kiss Ginny..." he wondered, closing

his eyes and searching his brain.

After a minute or so, Harry opened his eyes. "Well, when I

first kissed Ginny, I didn't even know that I was going to kiss her, so I

wasn't thinking about anything, really. But it felt nice."

"Oh," said Luna, sounding a bit disappointed. "I thought it

was supposed to be special..."

"It was!" Harry loudly protested at once.

She went on as if she hadn't heard him. "Perhaps it was

because that wasn't your first kiss?" she asked hopefully.

Harry sighed. How did he get into these things? Having talks about his love life with Luna and whatnot. "Well,

it wasn't," he admitted.

Luna smiled. "Then how did your first kiss go, Harry? What

went through your mind then?"

He and Cho Chang under the mistletoe, a memory Harry cared

not to recall, but he took the stroll down Memory Lane

for Luna's sake. She really did seem quite curious about it all.

"A lot of things," he said he said after some time, part of

him speculating at how much trouble Luna was going to be in when she got to

class-little more than ten minutes since first bell had gone by already. "I was

nervous, and she was crying." He paused here, expecting Luna to ask why said

girl was crying, but she did not, as if crying during a kiss wasn't so unusual.

"So I was wondering what it would be like, would she like it, what would happen

afterwards..."

"And then..." Luna waited with large eyes.

"And then I kissed her and that was it," Harry told her with

a shrug. "That went by pretty quick, and for awhile afterwards all I did was

worry about it some more."

"Oh." Luna sighed and moved a few strings of hair out of her

face. "Then that wasn't very special either. You know, I always heard that a

kiss with someone you love, like your soul mate, was supposed to be very

special, with fireworks going off in your brain and such, and with that kiss

you're drinking in that person and all that they are, and afterward you feel as

if you could do anything in the world..."

Standing there and listening to all of this, Harry felt very

strange. Luna was acting kind of weird-why was she so hopeful that a kiss

should mean so much? Probably because

she's a girl, he thought. Girls were always into that kind of thing, hoping

for a two dozen red roses and Prince Charming on a white stallion. He hadn't

thought Luna Lovegood of all people, was that type, though.

What does Ginny think

about when we kiss? he found himself thinking.

Okay, so maybe he in particular did not feel all of what Luna said happened

when one kissed their soul mate, but Ginny should, right? She was a girl-maybe it only happens with girls, he decided,

knowing he was going to ask Ginny once he got a chance.

Uh-oh. Luna was talking and he

hadn't heard half of what she had just said.

"...so I'm sorry I held you up Harry. I just wished..." Her eyes

were shiny, and she sighed again. At this point Harry felt something odd

stirring in his stomach; he groaned and rubbed at his middle.

"Are you all right?" Luna asked instantly, sounding like her

usual self. "If you've got a stomachache, you might want to eat a bit of

Hippogriff toenail, I heard it works wonders for

stomach pains. Hagrid's got a Hippogriff, perhaps you should ask him."

Harry grimaced. There was no way he was going to eat

Buckbeak's toenail, but he nodded at Luna anyway. "I'll do that."

Luna looked at her watch. "Oh my, its getting sort of late,

I should get to Potions. See you Harry." With that, she ambled down the

hallway, just as idly as before.

Harry watched her disappear into Slughorn's class before

heading back to the Gryffindor common room, absentmindedly tucking her wand

behind his ear and thinking about some assignments that he had yet to finish.

Crossing into the portrait hole, Harry sat down at a table

where Ron was sitting, surrounded by textbooks. Ron looked up at Harry and

snorted. "And who are you supposed to be, Luna Lovegood?"

"Huh?"

Ron reached over and took the wand from Harry's ear.

"Hey-this isn't your wand," he said

upon examination.

Harry hit his head with his hand. "Great. I forgot I had

that-it's Luna's."

Ron furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you doing with Luna's wand?"

Harry shook his head. "Long story."

He took his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook off

the table and began working on an essay that was due today.

"Well?" said Ron after awhile.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to give it back to her?"

"Nah. She's in Slughorn's class

with Ginny now, and there's no way I'm heading in there if I can help it. I'll

give it to her at lunch."

That settled, Harry resumed his work.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Just a Kiss (Chapter 02 - The Wand and the Question Repeated)

Author Name: e-chan16

Owl the author: here.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: OotP, HBP. Written between Order of Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.

Genre: Romance, Angst

Era: The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years

Main Character(s): H, Luna

Ship(s): H/Luna, Hr/R

Summary: One simple question: "Harry, what do you think about when you kiss Ginny?" That's when all the trouble started, and thanks to Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter's world is turned upside-down.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Notes:

Defense Against the Dark Arts, right before lunch.

Harry checked his watch; only a few minutes to go. He had

finished his essay only minutes before class was to begin, and wondered what

grade he might receive. He idly fingered Luna's wand in the pocket of his

robes. It was of a light-colored wood, and sort of springy, he found, as he

whipped it out for a second and waved it about.

"Potter!"

Damn, Harry

thought, looking up to see his teacher, Professor Snape, striding down the

aisle to his seat.

"Ten points from Gryffindor. This is not nursery school, Potter," Snape informed

Harry with a sneer. "We do not play

aimlessly with objects here-if you find that you are bored I will assign you

extra work. Now hand that to me," he finished, holding out his hand.

Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes, and easily placed

Luna's wand in Snape's palm. "It's just a wand, sir."

Snape twirled Luna's wand between his fingers. "However,

this is not your wand, is it,

Potter?"

Harry nearly hit himself in the head-leave it to Snape to

know what Harry's wand looked like-although, Harry thought, all the members of

the Order had probably been instructed to know such things. "No, it's not sir,

I was holding it f-" he tried.

"Stealing," Snape

cut him off, with a malicious glint in his eyes. "Twenty points from Gryffindor

and I will be informing Professor McGonagall about this. Return this to the

owner immediately, Potter, unless you

want Gryffindor to lose more points and the Headmaster to know of this."

Here the bell rang, and Harry was unceremoniously given back

Luna's wand. Fuming and using all of his power to bite back his tongue, he went

out the door without bothering to wait for Ron and Hermione. Ron would tell

everyone he had not actually stolen

the wand, he knew, so he wasn't so worried about people thinking him a thief,

but Gods, why did Snape have to be such an... such an...

Harry edited his own thoughts for content as he made his way

to the Great Hall for lunch, holding Luna's wand out in front of him as if

ready to duel. Noting he was one of the first at the Gryffindor table and that

Luna had not shown at the Ravenclaw table yet (somehow Harry presumed she

wouldn't be there for quite a while), he slammed his books down next to him and

began shoveling food on his plate with a bit of unnecessary violence.

He had just started on a chicken pot pie when Ginny plopped

down next to him. "What's this I hear about you stealing Luna's wand?" she

asked, with the hint of a smile.

Harry swallowed quickly and replied hotly, "I didn't steal

her wand!"

Ginny laughed. "Oh, calm down Harry. I know you didn't, but according to Parvati, who heard it from

Lavender, who heard it from Seamus, who heard it from Neville, who heard it

from Ron-"

"Ron?!" Harry choked. "But-"

"I told them you

were holding onto it for her," said Ron, appearing on the other side of the

table with Hermione. "The rest of it got mixed up by the rumor mill." He sat

down facing Harry and poured himself a goblet of pumpkin juice. "Pretty fast,

too," he added, sounding a bit impressed in spite of everything.

"It must be a personal record for them," Hermione commented

wryly, shooting a dirty look at Parvati and Lavender, who had just walked in

with a group, all of which stared at Harry. "It's hardly been ten minutes and

soon the whole school will know."

"Just what I need," said Harry sarcastically, glancing

around the Great Hall once more for a sign of Luna and finding none. He

returned to his meal and ate with vigor-meat pies happened to be one of his

favorite meals; he had developed a real liking to them when Mrs. Weasley had first

begun sending them to him as Christmas presents in his first year.

A minute or two later, Ginny spoke. "So... what were you doing with Luna's wand, Harry?"

she asked in a somewhat tight voice. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other and

also waited for the answer.

"We were talking in the hallway and I had it and she went

off to class before I remembered," Harry explained vaguely, mouth full.

"But how did you get

it?" Ginny pressed, and Harry was suddenly apprehensive.

"I took it from behind her ear," he told her.

Ginny's eyebrows flew up, and she and Ron asked "Why?" at

the same time.

Harry chuckled, relaxing a little, and shook his head. "I

don't know, it just had to do with something Mad-Eye told me about wands and

buttocks-"

"What?" That was Ron. Hermione was looking worriedly at

Ginny, who was chewing on her lower lip.

Harry finally grasped what was happening, though a part of

him was disbelieving. Ginny was jealous that he had Luna's wand... and might

think Harry liked Luna's butt or something of the kind if he didn't clear this

up. "It was about not putting your wand just anywhere because it might go off

unexpectedly and then you could get injured," he said in a rush. "I had my wand

in a back pocket once, and that's when he told me. And that's all," he added,

watching Ginny. She stopped chewing her lip and gave Harry a small smile, and

Harry, relieved, smiled back.

"Potter?" The voice behind him was prim.

Harry turned to see Professor McGonagall there, along with

Luna. Luna's stocking was pulled up and her tie was on correctly, he noticed,

probably with McGonagall's prompting.

"Thanks for stealing my wand, Harry," Luna told him

dreamily, just as McGonagall opened her mouth to speak. The surrounding people

gasped-Lavender and Parvati especially loudly. "I was just asking Professor

McGonagall about wand safety, and she says that you're exactly right, there's a

chance I could have lost a buttock or

two."

A hearty laugh rose up from the listeners-in, and Harry

relaxed, allowing himself a chuckle. McGonagall pursed her lips, but Harry

assumed she was just trying to keep a straight face. "Twenty points to

Gryffindor, Potter," she said in a low voice before leaving, and he could have

sworn she winked at him.

"But you know," continued Luna, taking a seat on Harry's

other side as everyone else went back to their lunch, "I think I'll keep to my

ways."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want you to change," Harry replied

inattentively, searching for her wand in his robe pocket. He found it after a

moment, and, like Snape earlier, twirled it with his fingers before handing it

to her.

Hermione glanced at Ginny again, who was looking uncomfortable.

Harry, however, didn't observe this.

"Oh, and I got you this, Harry, Hagrid gave it to me right

away when I told him you might have needed one." Luna went digging into her

satchel and came up with a dark, curved object about the size of her hand.

"Hippogriff toenail?" Hermione instantly assessed. "Did you

have a bad stomachache, Harry?" she asked with some authority, sounding very

much like Ron's mother.

"Earlier, when I was talking to Luna," Harry admitted, while

Ron picked up the toenail and sniffed it. "It wasn't all that bad, though, it

went away after awhile."

Hermione frowned. "Well, perhaps you should cut a little of

this up and keep it on you just in case." She took the toenail from Ron and inspected

it. "Hagrid seems to have given you enough to last a year."

Harry doubted he'd ever use the toenail, but he nodded

anyway to appease his friend. Luna picked a pea out of his pie, flicked it into

the air, and caught it in her mouth. Ron grinned and applauded. "Nice one,

Luna," he said appreciatively, and tried to catch a pea himself, when he saw

Hermione watching him disapprovingly. "What?"

he asked with a hint of exasperation, as the pea bounced off his forehead.

Harry laughed, and things went pretty smoothly from there.

It wasn't until lunch had ended and Harry was walking Ginny

to her next class that he remembered what Luna had asked him earlier and what

he had planned to ask his girlfriend. "Uh, Ginny?"

Ginny looked up at him.

"Um..." Embarrassed, he forced himself to go on, but lowered

his voice in case someone overheard. "What do you think about... when we... I mean...

when you kiss me, or when you first kissed me, what went through your head?"

Ginny cocked an eyebrow. "...Well, what's supposed to have gone through my head?"

Harry shrugged, ignoring the blush he knew had crept to his

cheeks. "I don't know, rainbows, fireworks... lo-lights," he corrected quickly,

having almost said "love"-not that he knew if he loved Ginny or even if Ginny

loved him. They'd only been dating for about a month, and Harry honestly wasn't

sure if he would know love if it came around the corner and punched him in the

face.

"What?" Ginny giggled. "Who's been filling your head with

all these crazy ideas about rainbows?"

"No one," he answered stiffly, scorned. "I just wanted to

know."

"I can tell you I'm definitely not thinking about rainbows,"

said Ginny, putting her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Then tell me what you thought about," said Harry impatiently.

Ginny gave him a weird look, but Harry couldn't blame

her-this was weird, asking her this

silly question and expecting her to take him seriously. She had every right to

laugh, he thought, and was suddenly mad at himself for asking, then mad at Luna

for putting this dumb idea in his head in the first place.

"I don't really think about much," Ginny answered pensively.

"When you kiss, you're just kissing... I don't think you're supposed to have

something else on your mind or whatever." She paused. "You okay, Harry?"

Harry ran a hand through his dark hair. "Yeah, I'm fine," he

lied. They reached her class, and Harry waved then set off for his own class,

Charms, before Ginny had the chance to peck his cheek as she usually did.

What's going on?

Harry thought, disturbed. Why did it matter if all these so-called "special"

things went through your mind when you kissed someone? When you kissed the one you loved,

Luna said, he reminded himself irritably. It probably doesn't happen to anybody, it's just a story.

Charms went badly. Harry was unable to concentrate on the

Protean Charm he was supposed to be performing and was assigned extra homework

from Professor Flitwick, something he was

not happy about.

Thanks to Luna Lovegood, Harry could not get the desire for

what he now thought of as 'firework kisses' out of his brain.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Just a Kiss (Chapter 03 - The Way the Universe Works)

Author Name: e-chan16

Owl the author: here.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: OotP, HBP. Written between Order of Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.

Genre: Romance, Angst

Era: The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years

Main Character(s): H, Luna

Ship(s): H/Luna, Hr/R

Summary: One simple question: "Harry, what do you think about when you kiss Ginny?" That's when all the trouble started, and thanks to Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter's world is turned upside-down.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Notes:

Another free period before dinner for

Harry Potter. He flew out of Charms class and headed down the corridor,

head swiveling in all directions, looking for the one, the only Luna Lovegood.

He hadn't even planned on doing this, but as soon as the

bell rang he found his butt lifting out of the seat with such speed that he

heard Hermione gasp next to him, but with one thought going through his brain: Get to Luna.

A part of his brain that wasn't thinking about firework

kisses reminded him that Ginny had not had her last class with Luna, and her

next class was Transfiguration, which she had with Hufflepuffs, not Ravenclaws...

Jogging down the hallways, and up and down some stairs,

Harry realized he had lost five minutes and started getting desperate. Why?

Even he didn't know, but as the

students only had a ten-minute period to go to and from classes (though he knew

Luna had made her own extended time) and the castle

of Hogwarts was huge with seven

floors. Fairly sweating, Harry had taken off his robe and crushed it in his

bag, loosened his tie, rolled up his sleeves, and let his shirttails hang out.

This simple task of finding someone started to seem

impossible to Harry. So he went for his last resort, and began asking people if

they'd seen her. He knew this would cause rumors to start up again, but at the

moment he didn't really care.

"Have you seen Luna Lovegood?" he asked a group of

fifth-year girls walking by. They all looked at each other, giggled, and shook

their heads no.

"Have you seen Luna Lovegood?" he asked a larger group of

Hufflepuffs going to their next class.

"You mean Loony?" one of the girls asked, making the others

snicker.

"Her name's Luna,

perhaps that bit of information hasn't settled in that empty head of yours yet,"

Harry told her snappishly, and the girl, looking scandalized, shut her mouth.

"Hey, we haven't seen her," said one of the boys in a tough-guy

voice, puffing his chest out in defense of the girl. "So why don't you-"

Too late. Harry was on his heel and

going down the hall. "Have you seen Luna Lovegood?" he asked a small boy,

probably a first year, promptly realized he was wasting his time and walked

away.

"Hey, I know who she is!" the boy's voice squeaked behind

him. "She wears a butterbeer cap necklace, right?"

Harry turned and went back to the boy in a flash. "You saw

her, then?" he asked eagerly.

The boy nodded. "She was on her way to the grounds."

"How long ago?"

"About a minute or two."

"Thanks!" Harry was off, running downstairs to the first

floor, tapping his foot impatiently at Filch, who was taking his sweet time checking

him for Dark objects. Once cleared, he ran out, streaking across the grass.

Not even one minute later, Harry's foot hit something hard

and he fell flat on his face. He heard a scream of mirth and some laughter, but

luckily it sounded like it was coming from far away; he wouldn't have to deal

with close-up embarrassment.

"Oh, hello Harry."

"Luna!" Harry gasped, looking up at the girl standing over

him. His mouth dropped open-he realized he could see right up her skirt in this

position, and she happened to be wearing a pair of lime-green panties with a

pattern of what he just knew were

yellow, Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.

"I made them myself, you know," Luna told him vaguely, and

Harry jumped up in alarm, turning bright red in the process.

"Made what?" he questioned hastily, as if he didn't know

what she was talking about. His brain was running overtime. I just looked up Luna's skirt,

I just looked up Luna's skirt-

Luna seemed confused. "My undergarments, I'm sure you saw

them, quite by accident, really, didn't you Harry? I learned how to sew over

the summer, and I made all sorts of things-"

"Luna-I'm-I-I didn't mean to-" Harry stuttered, in a

perfectly non-intentional Professor Quirrel imitation.

"Did you like the pattern?" Luna asked, and actually waited

for an answer. She twirled a daisy in her left hand that Harry had not noticed

before.

Why, why oh why did this kind of stuff always happen

to him? "Uh-yes, they were-um-very

nice," Harry answered truthfully, blushing hard. (Even if he had really thought

so, was he supposed to say they were

ugly?)

"It's better to go

when your mind is in its prime than to be at hand and out of mind," Luna

said in a sing-song voice.

Harry stopped and scratched his head. Pushing all thoughts

of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks out of his mind for the time being, he remembered

why he had been searching for Luna in the first place. "Luna, I wanted to ask

you about... about this kissing thing."

"What kissing thing?" said Luna promptly.

Harry nearly facefaulted.

"You know, what you said about fireworks, and drinking in the person and everything

that they are, and feeling like you could do anything in the world when you

kiss the one you love?"

After some thinking, Luna nodded. "Yes, I recall that. What

about it?"

Here Harry realized he had not thought of an exact question,

and took a few moments to formulate one. "Where'd you hear that from?"

"My mother told me," she replied dreamily. "She said kisses

with the one you truly love made you feel like you could fly, and feel fireworks

going off in you and... well, more nice things." She looked at the sky, thinking.

"But I suppose it only works for the one you do love, doesn't it? Because you said that you didn't feel such things

when you kissed Ginny..."

"Hey, that's not fair," Harry found himself saying.

"What isn't?" Luna scratched at her leg with her free hand and

watched him.

"That... that..." This was hard. "Just because I don't... love

Ginny that I can't experience something like that, if it's even true," he added

bitterly, turning away from Luna. He put a hand to his forehead and closed his

eyes, feeling frustrated. "I wish you had never asked me that question," he

confessed. As dumb as it was, he wanted

this fireworks kiss, wanted it with all his stupid

teenage boy being. He couldn't explain how it had consumed him so quickly,

could only be sure that it had.

"I'm quite sorry then, Harry," Luna told him quietly, and

made a move to leave.

Harry heard this rather than saw it, spun around, and quite

by chance his left hand caught Luna's, which was still holding the daisy. She

stopped. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault I won't... that Ginny and I..." He

swallowed hard. Why does it bother me so

much?

Luna's peculiar, silvery-blue eyes held his gaze. "Harry,

love is complicated; and it takes time to love someone. Perhaps it's a

different time frame with everyone... but either way love doesn't happen just

because you want it to," she finished, shaking her head to emphasize this.

"Why not?" Harry challenged, taking

a step closer to her and shrinking the gap between them.

"Because the stars said so," Luna told him with a smile. "It's

simply the way the universe works."

"What if I won't follow their rules?" he contested again, the

warmth of her hand filling him with a sort of strange determination. "What if I

don't want to?" Their faces were only inches apart. He could only hear the

sound of his and Luna's own breathing, as if a filter had been placed around

them that kept all outside noises out.

Then, unexpectedly, Luna leaned forward and closed her eyes.

Harry drew in his breath sharply, but it was inaudible, and he closed his eyes

as well, his heart pounding so hard in his chest he thought it would burst, and

a kind of electricity running through him; his arms were ready to wrap around

her waist and pull her into him when her lips touched his-

But she passed his lips, only brushed her cheek against his

as she whispered in his ear, "If it's strong enough, Harry... Amor vincit omnia."

Luna left him.

Harry stood there for a few moments while the shock wore

off. Harry's thoughts upon the un-numbing process were as follows:

What in bloody hell

does "amor vincit omnia" mean?

I thought Luna

Lovegood was going to kiss me.

Gods, what would Ginny

say if she heard? She's my girlfriend!

I wasn't about to be very

faithful... I almost lost it there.

And Ron and Hermione

and everybody, what would they all say?

...I wanted to kiss Luna

too-maybe just because I've been thinking about the fireworks kiss too much,

and wanting it too much.

With

Ginny.

Yeah...

That thought still lingering in his mind, and Luna's daisy,

its stalk now crushed, still in his hand somehow, Harry headed back to the

castle.

...Without noticing all the whispering going on as he went by.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Just a Kiss (Chapter 04 - The Daydream and the Rumor)

Author Name: e-chan16

Owl the author: here.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: OotP, HBP. Written between Order of Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.

Genre: Romance, Angst

Era: The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years

Main Character(s): H, Luna

Ship(s): H/Luna, Hr/R

Summary: One simple question: "Harry, what do you think about when you kiss Ginny?" That's when all the trouble started, and thanks to Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter's world is turned upside-down.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Notes:

Harry skipped dinner. He had no appetite. After coming back

into the castle he had gone straight to the nearly empty Gryffindor common room

and then to his bed, where he laid down and looked at the hangings above his

bed without really seeing them.

After much deliberation, he decided that he was going to get that fireworks kiss

with Ginny. Maybe he didn't love

Ginny, but he was at least in love

with her, right? Besides, what was

love anyway? He had crushed on Ginny nearly the whole year, he cared about her,

and about what she did and what happened to her-who was to say that wasn't love? The stars? The universe? What a load of bull.

He had set Luna's daisy upon the nightstand, and upon

remembering this, unexpected thoughts of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks consumed his

brain. Harry shook them out determinedly, and his thought went back to the

fireworks kiss he was going to experience tonight. He would assault Ginny in

the common room, right when she came though the portrait hole from dinner, and

give it his all, to feel those fireworks he wanted and make her feel them as

well.

From that note he closed his eyes and his thoughts wandered

further, to where the thoughts of a teenage boy usually go when thinking about

the opposite sex... He was with Ginny, doing things with her that he would never

have imagined he could do, a hand running through her long, red hair... which had

suddenly turned blond...

Kissing her with passion, his hands were now in places he

had only dreamed they could be... Her eyes opened to reveal pale silvery orbs

that burned into his own green ones, and he gripped her tighter, pulling her

closer to him, wanting to feel every curve of her body against his, wanting her

to feel what she was doing to him...

A pair of Lime-green Crumple-Horned Snorkack panties were

revealed, and removed...

Harry bolted straight up in bed. What is God's name had he

been thinking? To have a daydream of that nature and to suddenly find Ginny

replaced with Luna?

This is pushing it,

Harry thought anxiously, rubbing at his eyes and then laying his palms flat

down on the bedsheets. He was sweating, but yet excited, and still disbelieving

of what had just occurred. It's the panty

thing, why did I have to see her bloody panties? he cursed himself, but at

the same time thinking that he really didn't mind all that much... In fact, the

Crumple-Horned Snorkack was quickly becoming his favorite animal...

"No no no it's not!" Harry burst out, shaking his head. "I hate Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, and I am not going to have another sexual fantasy

about Luna Lovegood!"

At once Harry shut his mouth and glanced warily around the

room, realizing how loud he'd been. Getting off the bed and tiptoeing to the

door, he put his ear to it and listened, dread filling his stomach, expecting

to hear some laughter, or talking; but luckily he heard nothing. Everyone was

still down at dinner.

He checked his watch. Dinner was nearly over, but if he

hurried he could make it down to the Great Hall and kiss Ginny down there,

fireworks included, in front of the whole school, so everyone, Luna Lovegood included, could see that he did love Ginny Weasley, once and for

all. He had just scrambled downstairs and gone through the portrait hole when a

hand grabbed his arm and began leading him away, in the opposite direction of

the route to the Great Hall.

After the few seconds it took for Harry to gather his

bearings, he recognized that hand, that bushy brown hair-they both belonged to

Hermione.

"What's going on?" he asked. She had an iron grip on his arm

and was moving so fast he was practically being dragged behind.

"We can't talk about it here, wait until we get somewhere

safe," she answered shortly, without turning to look at him.

A minute later Hermione had shoved him into the empty Charms

classroom, shut the door behind him, and placed an Imperturbable Charm on the

door. "I don't want us to be overheard," she explained, sitting down at a table

and motioning for him to sit next to her.

Harry slid in the seat next to her. "Now can you tell me

what this is all about? I had something important to do-"

Hermione's sigh broke him off. "I brought you here because I

want to hear the story from you, all of it."

"What story?" Harry asked, puzzled.

Hermione frowned, then suddenly covered her mouth with her

hand. "You mean-but I thought you had skipped dinner because of what they were

saying, although I thought you might have spoken to Ginny about it first-"

"About what?" Harry asked anxiously. The odd feeling in his

stomach told him this was not going

to be good.

"About you and Luna Lovegood, Harry," Hermione explained

slowly, watching his expression. "The story goes that you tripped, looked up

her skirt, got-um-" Here she blushed deeply- "excited by the view, and then you were seen holding hands and agreeing

to meet in one of the broom closets later..."

Harry's jaw hit the floor. "But-but I didn't-well I did, but not all of that-"

Hermione waited, then held up a hand. "Just tell me what

happened." She pulled out a quill and scroll of parchment, seemingly out of

nowhere, to take notes.

Not so sure about Hermione recording this, almost like Rita

Skeeter, Harry told her the story anyway (after receiving her word of honor

that she would not repeat anything he told her, especially not to Ron or

Ginny), in detail, from the beginning when he first spoke to Luna today, and

ended when she whispered "Amor vincit

omnia" in his ear and walked away.

"Amor vincit omnia..." mused

Hermione, putting down her quill after he had finished. "Interesting."

"But what does that mean?" Harry pressed. "I don't know what

language it is, and-"

"It's Latin," Hermione interrupted him, looking surprised.

"I thought everyone knew it that phrase, it's a very common saying, after all.

It means love conquers all."

"Oh..." said Harry, comprehension dawning upon him. "So Luna

had said, 'If it's strong enough, love conquers all?' Well, not all of us

understand Latin, you know," he added pointedly.

"But almost all magic spells are-" Hermione lectured, but

stopped and shook her head. "It's not about that Harry... There are two things

you're going to have to do here, and neither of them is very easy."

"What?"

She gave him a look.

"Well, the first one is pretty obvious, isn't it? Talk to Ginny. Tell her the truth about what happened."

"But I can't!" Harry protested. "I can't tell her I thought

Luna was going to-kiss me and that...

that I wanted her to!" He didn't look at Hermione. "Ginny would hate me," he

added, with remorse.

"Well," Hermione said thoughtfully, "Maybe you can leave

that part out... just to spare Ginny's

feelings. I don't want to see her hurt either," she admitted. "She's already

pretty upset over the rumors going about, even though she acted as if she

didn't believe them."

Harry knew now, that when Hermione said he should lie, that things were way worse than he had

thought. He not only felt bad, but nervous as well. It wasn't easy to forget

how well Ginny performed the Bat-Bogey Hex and he suddenly had an image of himself

stumbling around the common room, covered in bats... "What's the second thing?" he

asked, to get his mind off of it.

"I know this is a lot to digest in one day, Harry, but you

have to make a choice," Hermione told him seriously, sitting up straighter.

"What kind of choice?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as if he should have known.

"Between Ginny and Luna. Which one do you want to be with?"

"What?!" Harry spluttered, his heart racing. "Who ever said

I wanted to be with Luna?!"

Hermione stared at him in such a way that Harry was reminded

of Luna right there. "Fine, Harry," she said after a few moments, trying to

hide her exasperation. "You don't

want to be with Luna. But you do want

to be with Ginny, and experience this whole, 'fireworks kiss', right?"

Harry nodded vigorously, just as something struck him. "Hey,

Hermione," he interrupted, "you've kissed Ron by now, right?"

Hermione blushed, and that was enough of an answer for him,

so he continued. "Well? What was it like?" he asked, thinking that under normal

circumstances this was a question he would usually not ask Hermione, from whom

he didn't really expect an answer in the first place.

Hermione sighed and her eyes glazed over. She ran a hand

through her hair. "It was... wonderful,"

she confessed dreamily. "I felt like electric currents were running throughout

my body, and there was an audience cheering for us in the background, and

afterward I felt quite giddy. I felt like I was walking on air for the rest of

the day, really," she finished, smiling. "Oh," she breathed, looking surprised.

"I don't think I expected to recount that to you anytime in the near future."

But Harry wasn't listening. Jealousy filled him as

Hermione's description of her kiss with Ron kept playing through his head: "...electric currents... an audience cheering...

felt quite giddy... like I was walking on air..." So Hermione had experienced

the fireworks kiss!

"Well that's it," he said determinedly, standing up. "I'm

going to have this damn fireworks kiss with Ginny and I'm going to have it now!"


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Just a Kiss (Chapter 05 - The Misunderstanding)

Author Name: e-chan16

Owl the author: here.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: OotP, HBP. Written between Order of Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.

Genre: Romance, Angst

Era: The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years

Main Character(s): H, Luna

Ship(s): H/Luna, Hr/R

Summary: One simple question: "Harry, what do you think about when you kiss Ginny?" That's when all the trouble started, and thanks to Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter's world is turned upside-down.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Notes:

Slam.

"Would you like me to take the charm off the door first?"

Hermione asked, trying not laugh.

Harry glared at her from his position on the floor, where

the Imperturbable Charm on the classroom door had pushed him away, hard. "Yes,

please," he answered sardonically, getting to his feet.

Hermione smiled and performed the countercharm. She wanted

to offer more advice to Harry, to show him exactly what she had written on her

parchment, but after having known him for six years, she

knew that he'd do what he wanted to anyway. She just hoped that whatever

happened, he and Ginny both would come out of it fine. They were, after all,

two of her best friends, and she hated seeing either of them hurt.

"Thanks," said Harry hastily and he pushed open the door,

preparing to run to Gryffindor Tower so he could finally get that fireworks

kiss from Ginny once and for all-

"Oh!"

Harry winced, realizing that he'd hit someone. He hurried to

the other side and found none other than Luna Lovegood there, her bottom

planted firmly on the floor. She looked up at him as Hermione, who had heard

the obvious hitting of one object on another, ran out the door to see what had

happened.

"Why hello," Luna said calmly, rubbing her forehead. Her

wand was surprisingly still stuck behind her ear. "Did you see what hit me just

now? I suppose it was a Knockerpoof, they have a habit of hitting things-"

"No," said Harry, who could not help grinning at the sight

of her wand. He offered a hand to help her up. "It was me, Luna. I opened the

door and hit you by accident." Luna took it, and as she uprighted herself Harry

caught his second glimpse of lime-green that day and struggled to remain

composed.

Wanting to strike himself in the head with a heavy object, he

asked to see where the door had hit her. It wasn't much more than a bump, but

Harry healed it with his Espikey spell

anyway. Afterward, he realized that he was still holding her hand and pulled

his own away quickly, as if he had been burned. What was he doing here, talking

to her, after everything? Didn't she know what everyone was saying? Didn't she care?

He backed away, preparing to wave goodbye and leave, (so his

overactive imagination would cease to function and he could get to his common

room) but Luna spoke first.

"Thank you," she said touching the area on her forehead

where the bump had previously been. "That's quite a useful spell, isn't it?"

she asked dreamily, and Harry's eyes traveled from her face, down her butterbeer-cap-adorned

neck, to her-

"I got a nasty bruise on my knee when I went to dinner, I

surely could have used it then."

"What happened?" Harry inquired, his curiosity getting the

better of him, in more ways than one. His eyes flew upward to meet Luna's, and

he blushed hard, hoping with all his might she had not noticed what he tried

not to think of as his "ogling".

Seeing that everything was all right, Hermione tiptoed away

unnoticed, the scroll of parchment under her arm. She'd leave it to the two of

them and go comfort Ginny in the meanwhile.

"Victoria Frobisher tripped me," Luna told Harry, without a

hint of bitterness in her voice. She pointed to show him the black-and blue

mark on her knee. Harry's stomach dropped, and all impure thoughts vanished. "She's

one of Ginny's good friends, you know, and I suppose with all of the rumors

going about and all..." So Luna had

heard.

Harry's pity was overtaken by an upsurge of anger. What kind

of 'friends' did Ginny have? "That's still no reason for her to do that!" he

told Luna heatedly. "Did you do anything about it? Like go tell Flitwick, he's

the Head of your House, isn't he?"

Luna shook her head no. Somehow Harry wasn't surprised, and

he was reminded of a conversation with Neville Longbottom from his first year,

which was very similar to the one he was having now. "Well, you should!" he

cried indignantly.

"It wouldn't make a difference, Harry, I'm sure you're aware

of that," Luna said simply. "Besides, if it weren't one thing, it'd be another.

People fear what they do not understand, which mainly means me," she finished, smiling.

"That doesn't make it right," Harry argued, although he saw

the truth in her point. "You shouldn't let them walk all over you."

They both fell silent; Harry's green eyes sparked with fury,

while Luna's blue ones remained as unperturbed as always.

"Why do you care?" she asked him idly, twisting a lock of

hair around her finger. Her smile had faded.

Harry stared at her, taken aback. "Why... do I care?" he

repeated, unsure of himself. "I don't-not like that." He felt more and more

uncomfortable as the seconds passed. "It's just..." But he failed to elaborate.

Luna waited awhile longer, humming "Weasley Is Our King".

Then she sat down, Indian style, right in the middle of the hallway and watched

him as if he were putting on a show.

"WILL YOU PLEASE STOP DOING THAT?!" Harry bellowed, as he saw Crumple-Horned Snorkacks for the third time today and his brain was hit

with an onslaught of indecent images, mainly of him and Luna doing unmentionable

things...

Luna's hair blew back slightly with the force of Harry's

words, but other than that she was quite undisturbed. "Stop doing what?" she

asked, honestly confused.

Harry was thoroughly exasperated with his own male mind, the

design of the Hogwarts' uniform for girls, and Luna's panties always finding a

way to catch his eye. "Stop doing that with-" he started angrily, then realized

by the look on Luna's face-her usual one-that she either really had no idea

what he was talking about or was hiding it very well.

Of course she has no idea what you're

talking about, you idiot, he reminded himself. It's not her fault you can't

keep your mind out of the gutter, you

act as if Luna's been showing you her panties on purpose-

"Potter!"

Professor McGonagall was walking briskly down the hallway,

and Harry could nearly see the steam coming out of her ears. "Could you have

been any louder, Potter? Do you have

a desire to allow the entire castle to hear you? Ten points from Gryffindor and

a detention. That includes you as well, Miss Lovegood, now please stand when I

am speaking to you," she added, noticing Luna on the floor.

Luna resumed humming "Weasley Is Our King" and stood up. She

removed her wand from behind her ear and began twirling it through her fingers

like a baton, faster than Harry or Snape had.

"But Professor," Harry tried, while Luna switched the

spinning wand from hand to hand. McGonagall's eyebrows nearly touched her

hairline. "Luna didn't-"

"I don't know what is going on with the two of you,"

McGonagall cut him off, looking from one to the other (Luna was twirling the

wand under her leg now), and here Harry realized Hermione was not with them-"especially you, Mister Potter, but I advise you to at the very least to stop bellowing like some sort

of hoodlum." She lowered her glasses. "In any case, you shall be serving your

detentions with Professor Slughorn tomorrow might at eight-I daresay he told me

just this morning he needed help organizing his potion ingredients..."

It took all of Harry's will not to groan aloud at the

thought of serving detention with Slughorn, but he managed it-mostly because he

was temporarily distracted when Luna tossed the wand up high again, pivoted,

and caught it without missing a beat.

"Now I highly

suggest the two of you get back to your respectable common rooms,

or at least to the library for studying purposes," she told them sternly, and

turned on her heel.

Harry sighed. There really was no way the day could get any worse now, could it? He gloomily made a move to go. "Well, see you later,

Luna."

"Where are you going?" Luna asked, gracefully making figure

eights with her wand.

"I have to talk to Ginny," he said, watching her

performance. "About... you know, these rumors and

stuff."

"Would you like me to come with you?"

Harry was about to say no, but then he realized with a start

that Luna would be a major asset in this situation; she would be able to

confirm that the rumors were nothing more than just that, and everything would

work out.

And then, Harry

thought to himself, a smile broadening on his face, I'll finally get my fireworks kiss.

"Let's go," he invited, beckoning to her. His mood had done

a complete turnaround. Everything was going to turn out all right.

With on final spectacular catch, Luna tucked her wand behind

her ear walked next to him. "Where'd you learn to do those tricks?" Harry could

not help wanting to know.

"Daddy bought a Muggle television some years ago, and one

day I watched something where a lot of Muggle women wearing long sparking gowns

had to show off their talents," Luna told him dreamily. "They all were named

after different countries, and had a habit of not being able to stop smiling...

Anyhow, one of them twirled around a sparkly stick for her turn-a baton, it's

called-and I was quite interested. Daddy went out and got me one too the very

next day, and I've been practicing ever since," she added with a touch of

pride.

"Have you ever been to the Gryffindor common room?" Harry

asked Luna, stopping to look up at the Fat Lady's portrait, where they had just

arrived.

"No," she answered, shaking her long mane of blond hair, and

Harry worried that it might be against the rules to bring a student from

another House into Gryffindor Tower.

However, he told the Fat Lady the password anyway.

"She's not in

Gryffindor," the Fat Lady said, looking at Luna apprehensively, without clearing

the way.

Not good. "Yes, I know but-"

"Hello. I'm Luna Lovegood, what's your name?" Luna had

introduced herself to the framed woman.

"It's just the Fat Lady," said Harry impatiently, turning

back to the painting. "Look, I know Luna's not in Gryff-"

But Luna was shaking her long mane of blond hair. "That

can't possibly be your name," she told the portrait. "I'm sure your real name

is very lovely."

"Oh!" breathed the Fat Lady, clearly flattered. "My name is

Fortenthsia Litargno Henterdinger," she said, puffing out her chest pompously.

"Nice to meet you, Fortenthsia," said Luna politely, while

Harry watched incredulously. "What an exquisite name you have."

The Fat Lady/Fortenthsia blushed. "Thank you! Have a lovely

evening," she said, swinging forward to reveal the portrait hole.

Harry grinned and stepped into the hole with ease. Luna,

however, who was obviously not used to going through the hole (and also had

legs that were shorter than Harry's), was having trouble getting over the low

wall between the bottom of the hole and the floor-she nearly tripped over it,

and Harry managed to catch her right before she fell. Girls, he thought, sort

of annoyed, conveniently forgetting that he had done the same more than once

since coming to Hogwarts. "Here, I'll help." He took Luna by the waist and

lifted her through the hole. The portrait swung closed behind them.

Harry quickly scanned the room for Ginny, while Luna tugged

at her skirt to pull it down; it had bunched up when he carried her. "Has

anyone seen-" he addressed the room loudly, but ceased as he slowly noticed

that nearly everyone in the Common Room was staring at him, many with stunned

expressions. Even further, he realized, his stomach sinking, his arms were

still wrapped around Luna's waist.

And smack dab in the middle of all this stood a livid Ginny,

patches of pink on each of her cheeks and unshed tears in her eyes.

The room had gone silent, and before Harry had the chance to

move his hands or even open his mouth, Ginny had strode up to him and smacked

him hard in the face.

Harry stared at Ginny in shock as she walked away, as Ron,

who looked ready to kill and was being pulled along by a determined Hermione,

flanked her instantly.

"Come on," Luna whispered, gently prying Harry's hands off

her waist and tugging at his arm, while some room's occupants openly glared at

them.

"But..." Harry tried weakly, putting a hand to his throbbing

cheek and looking after where he had seen Ginny last.

"You can't stay," Luna said softly and Harry knew she was

right, as Dean Thomas and a couple of the girls he knew as Ginny's friends,

including Victoria Frobisher, were moving in on him.

Luna pushed the portrait open, and with a violent oath by

Dean as his farewell, Harry left with her, wondering how it all had gone so

wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Just a Kiss (Chapter 06 - The Apology)

Author Name: e-chan16

Owl the author: here.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: OotP, HBP. Written between Order of Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.

Genre: Romance, Angst

Era: The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years

Main Character(s): H, Luna

Ship(s): H/Luna, Hr/R

Summary: One simple question: "Harry, what do you think about when you kiss Ginny?" That's when all the trouble started, and thanks to Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter's world is turned upside-down.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Notes:

When did we get here? Harry

thought. He was outside of the castle, on top of the Astronomy

Tower, to be exact.

Things had gone by in a blur since Ginny has slapped him in

front of the entire Gryffindor common room, and without even realizing it, Luna

had somehow lead him up here. He had to wonder at how she did it without Filch

or any of the staff finding out, but his thoughts were instantly replaced with

those of Ginny, and the anger and hurt on her face minutes (hours?) ago.

Turmoil went about within him. He felt sad because Ginny

hated him, angry at himself for not being a bit more tactful when entering the

common room and angry at Ginny as well, for not coming to him first instead of

listening to a bunch of (ninety-nine-point-nine percent) untrue rumors and

jumping to conclusions when she saw him with Luna.

Scowling, he staggered over to where Luna was, sitting on

the edge of the tower, her legs dangling over the edge.

"What are you thinking about, Harry?" she asked, looking out

into the night.

Harry glared at her. Though he knew it was irrational, a

part of him could not help but think that she was to blame of today's events.

If only Luna had not asked him that damn

question...

Luna's voice drifted over to him, her hair looking very pale

in the moonlight. "I feel like that sometimes, too,"

Annoyed, Harry rolled his eyes. "But I didn't say anything."

"I know," Luna told him matter-of-factly. She turned and

smiled. "But I still meant it."

"When? When have you

felt like that, Miss Luna Lovegood?" he asked her, half-angry and

half-incredulous. "When have you-"

Harry gave a short, sarcastic laugh-"felt like the weight of the world is on

your shoulders? Like everyone is out to get you-like you can never have a

moment's peace?" He folded his arms over his chest imposingly.

"Once a week," answered Luna softly, surprising him. "On

Sunday nights, actually." She rested her head on her fist, still holding his

challenging gaze. "That's when I come up here, and I allow myself to be sad, or

mad, about anything that's been bothering me for that week, and then I throw it

all out to the sky."

She sighed and drummed her heels against the stone wall. "Last

week, my Gibberish Dictionary was stolen; Daddy was in St. Mungo's because he

had a bad encounter with a herd of Nifflers during an investigative report; and

on top of that, I was missing my mother pretty badly-she and Daddy's

seventeenth wedding anniversary would have been on the fifth. Oh, and the usual,

as well." Harry took the usual to be

the everyday taunting that Luna received.

Harry felt his arms fall slowly to his sides, ashamed. He

hated when he got like this, when he had these self-centered outbursts. Perhaps

Luna wasn't "The Boy Who Lived", and Ginny hadn't slapped her, but that didn't mean she didn't have her own problems.

"I know you probably aren't ready to do so now," Luna went

on, "but maybe this Sunday you'd like to do what I do, and throw your problems

to the sky."

"But how can you do that?" Harry wondered aloud. "How can

you just let it all go?"

She shrugged. "I have to. Otherwise it would eat me up

inside."

Harry couldn't argue with the wisdom of her words. He went

to the edge of the tower near Luna and looked out, seeing what one would

normally see at this time of night at Hogwarts-the stars and moon in the sky, an

owl or two flying about, and smoke coming from Hagrid's chimney.

He glanced at Luna, who was attempting to brush her hair

back as a cold breeze whipped it around her face, and sat down next to her.

They sat together in a content silence for quite a while,

during which the wind picked up and it became considerably cooler. Harry wished

he had not left his robes in his dorm, but all the same, he didn't want to

leave.

He heard a quiet but sharp intake of breath and immediately

turned to Luna-she had shivered, and Harry could actually follow the quick

ripple of cold going up her body. Luna rubbed her upper arms in an attempt to

warm herself, but didn't do anything else.

Harry's breath caught in his throat as he watched her. She

shivered once more, and gooseflesh appeared on her arms, but yet she did

nothing, and he could not look away.

His heart beat faster, and he found himself hoping she would

do a spell to warm herself or suggest they go back inside-anything-but she did

not, and he suddenly ached to warm her up, not with a spell of his own, but

with his own body heat. He wanted to be next to her. Any thoughts of Ginny and

the rest of that day's disasters had flown from his mind.

"You're shivering," he managed to get out.

Luna looked back at him rubbed her arms again. "So are you."

She was right-Harry hadn't even realized it until now. He

nodded.

She glanced at the moon, her namesake, before meeting his

eyes again. The stars seemed unusually bright, and the magical filter had been

placed around them again; as if the world were only comprised of he and Luna

alone.

He raised his hand tentatively, unable to look away from her

blue-eyed stare. "Do you-" he started, but couldn't continue. The aching

thickly dripped little by little into his stomach.

Ever so slowly, carefully, he touched Luna's side. He

half-expected her to jump or shy away from his touch, but Luna did neither, never

tearing her eyes away from his own.

Her body under the fabric of her white blouse warmed his

hand almost instantly, and he fought the urge to move his hand underneath it

and touch her bare skin. Instead, he concentrated at the task at hand, sliding

his hand across her back until he found her other side. Squeezing her lightly,

he moved closer to her, until their legs touched.

She smells good, he

thought vaguely, as his nostrils were filled with several different scents at

once, all of which combined to create something heavenly. His breathing slowed, and he relaxed. He was feeling a lot warmer

now, and knew Luna was too; she had stopped shivering and removed her hands

from her arms.

...But she wasn't comfortable, Harry realized. She was not

stiff, but save for her arms, she had not moved any other part of her body.

He was filled with a disappointment greater than anything he

had expected-if he had expected this situation in the first place-and finally,

had to look away. The magical filter had disappeared. He attempted to remove

his arm from her waist, but found it hard. "Luna..." he tried, not knowing what

he was going to say.

Luna suddenly tensed, and Harry saw her ears actually

wiggle; then she reached behind her and gently pushed his arm off of her.

"Ginny's waiting for you," she said in a low voice.

"Huh?" Harry looked

at her questionably, but Luna was looking back toward the door which had led

them onto the tower, many yards away.

Ginny stood there in the open doorway, staring at them silently.

The light that illuminated from torches within the stairwell shined behind her,

lighting up her red hair and giving her a sort of ethereal look.

"I'll see you later, Harry," said Luna her tone neutral; too neutral. She got up and headed for

the door. She gave Ginny a quick noncommittal wave before opening the door and

descending the stairs.

Harry stood, somewhat shakily, and shoved his hands into his

pockets. Ginny was here, yes, and by the look on her face he could tell she

seemed quite apologetic, meaning their first fight was going to end in the

minutes ahead.

However, he could not ignore the uneasy feeling that was

slowly gnawing away at his stomach, or the fact that he could not think of what

to say, or the knowledge of what had just transpired between him and Luna.

It was Ginny, though, who spoke first, but only after a

moment or two's silence as she walked over to him. "I'm sorry."

"I know." It was not what he had meant to tell her, but the

words had worked their way through his mouth before he could stop them.

"I acted more than a bit rashly," she admitted softly, and

reached up with a soft hand to caress his left cheek, where she had slapped

him. "I didn't mean to, Harry, I really didn't. It's just I was hearing all of

these things and then when I saw you with Luna like that I..." she trailed off,

looking into his eyes. "I know you wouldn't do something like that... I wasn't

thinking."

"I know," Harry said again, monotonously, without wanting

to. The little monster inside of him devoured a bit more of his stomach lining.

"You're still angry." It wasn't a question. Ginny's gaze

moved downward, and she removed her hand from his face. "I'll just..." she

hesitated and after a few moments of pregnant silence she tried again. "You

know, Harry, if you want to... take a break, or something like that, I'd

understand," she offered, although the shakiness of her voice told him

otherwise.

A part of Harry longed to tell her no, he didn't want to do

that at all, that he just wanted everything back to normal-as close to normal

as life had ever been for him, anyway-but he couldn't. His throat had been

constricted, as if by some invisible force.

He could not speak as Ginny backed away, prompted by his

lack of response, and gradually made her way over to the door.

Could not tell her to stay as she placed her hand on the

cold iron door handle, opened the door and departed, without so much as a

goodbye.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Just a Kiss (Chapter 07 - The Potion)

Author Name: e-chan16

Owl the author: here.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: OotP, HBP. Written between Order of Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.

Genre: Romance, Angst

Era: The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years

Main Character(s): H, Luna

Ship(s): H/Luna, Hr/R

Summary: One simple question: "Harry, what do you think about when you kiss Ginny?" That's when all the trouble started, and thanks to Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter's world is turned upside-down.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Notes:

What a fucking day.

This thought, usually uncensored, crossed Harry Potter's

mind for the thirty-seventh time the next day. He had wolfed down a quick

dinner, before the majority of Hogwarts students had even arrived at the Great

Hall, and after killing some time in the library, he was on his way to

detention.

Directly after Ginny had left the Astronomy

Tower the previous night, Harry's

feet had twitched, almost pitching him forward, but he squashed the urge to run

after her. He had spent about another hour alone on the tower, and upon

contemplating his and Ginny's short conversation, he had to ask himself: What do I want to do?

He could not decide. He had strong feelings for Ginny, but

yet he had allowed her to break up with him without complaint; it was strange,

unnerving, even, how everything between them had changed so fast-it all just

blew up. Then there was Luna... and a possibility that he wasn't willing to

consider just yet.

His day had started off with a trying-not-to-look-pissed-off

Ron waiting for him to wake up and demanding to know what was happening between

his best friend and little sister. (When Harry had returned to Gryffindor

Tower hours ago, the occupants of

his dorm had been asleep.) Harry could not blame Ron for acting the way he did,

and after he gave Ron a quick, edited

summary of the previous day, his best friend brusquely accepted his explanation

and seemed slightly less angry. He told Harry that Hermione had talked to

brother and sister after the incident in the common room, and both accounts

matched up.

It was times like these that Harry was glad that he had

Hermione as a friend-she had broken her vow not to tell, yet she had done so in

such a way that he came out of it alive, having withheld the information that

could have ruined everything (more than it already was).

"No offense, but I just wanted to be sure," Ron had said

gruffly, looking away from him and shrugging. "She's my sister, you know?"

Harry's whole day could be summed up in one word: tense.

Ginny, he knew, was hiding behind a cheerful mask, so nobody would be able to

see how hurt she was-Harry could tell by the look in her eyes and her fake,

forced laughter at the Gryffindor table at breakfast. She had for the most part

ignored him, only speaking to him when it was absolutely necessary, like when

she asked, very formally, to pass the butter.

As far as he knew Ginny had told her friends somewhat about

the mix-up as well, and for the most part none of them were as hostile as Harry

had predicted, although there were many glares sent his way and lots of

whispering going on when his back was turned.

He couldn't say that he wasn't used to this behavior from

the Hogwarts students before-he recalled phrases such as "The Heir of

Slytherin" and "POTTER STINKS", amongst other things-but although he very much

would have liked it to, dealing with it never got any easier.

Maybe one day he would. It was bound to happen again; after

all, he was Harry Potter, wasn't he?

Ron and Hermione stuck by his side, though, and he was

grateful for it, even if Ron was still having trouble looking him in the eye,

and in class Hermione was constantly shooting worried glances at him.

As a method of distraction, Harry had really thrown himself

into his schoolwork, listening intently to his teachers and immersing himself

in every book and activity that came his way.

He hadn't seen Luna all day, and he had the vague feeling

that she was trying to avoid him. Granted, he didn't ordinarily see Luna

between classes or anything, but still... he couldn't shake it. Not that he could

blame her if she was avoiding him.

He had replayed many of yesterday's scenes over and over in

his mind, one being him holding Luna on the Astronomy

Tower. The memory always made him

blush. Maybe Luna had thought that Harry did

like her romantically after he did what he did, but she didn't feel the same,

and so it made sense that she might try to evade him as a way of telling him

so.

Yeah right, Harry

thought to himself, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Like Luna would ever think I liked her. Like I ever... and here he

stopped, right as he was descending the stairs the led to the dungeons, because

in his heart...

He knew he was lying.

But-no! How could it be possible?

Could it be that in the process of one day, he, one Harry Potter who had (had) a girlfriend that was

considered one of the most popular and prettiest girls in school, had fallen

for Luna Lovegood, who was not only

unpopular but... Harry could not pretend that Luna wasn't pretty, because she

was in his eyes, and her body had attracted him as well, something he couldn't

deny any longer. Plus, he did not really care if Luna was unpopular or not. As

loony as people said she was, Harry knew it wasn't so, not after what she had

revealed to him yesterday.

Which brought him back to the question that had been

plaguing him all day: What did he want to

do? The words repeated over and over in his head as he resumed walking and

reached the Potions classroom, where he would be serving detention with Luna,

almost wishing he didn't have to see her just now, because he wasn't ready to

deal with it. But he pulled opened the heavy door anyway. The last thing he

needed was another detention.

Luna was sitting Indian-style on one of the tables, holding

an empty jar, and it took all of Harry's willpower to look at her from the

waist up, forgetting all about not wanting to see her. She stared.

"Where's Professor Slughorn?" Harry inquired, trying not to

look at her.

"He went to go talk to Mister Filch," she answered vaguely,

waving her hand. "He said we should get started on organizing the ingredients

from the box in the corner and putting them in the cabinets..."

"Oh, okay," said Harry with a groan, rolling up his sleeves

and taking a peek at the very large crate before them, filled with different

jars.

"...Unless we could get him some Bubhubs, because he could

really use the wings for his sixth-year class," Luna continued, and Harry

raised an eyebrow. "I told him I knew where a flock of them tend to go to on the

grounds, and that's why he's gone off to see Mister Filch, so we wouldn't get

in trouble for leaving."

Harry picked up one of the jars in the crate, inspecting the

slimy pink object inside. "Really?" He couldn't believe his change of luck. If

he went... er-Hubboob-hunting with Luna, he wouldn't have to listen to Slughorn

the whole time.

"She apologized, you know."

He nearly dropped the jar in his hand. "Huh? Who?"

"Ginny," said Luna, matter-of-factly, her large eyes on him.

"She told me she was very sorry for suspecting me of any wrongdoing, and asked

for my forgiveness." She propped her head on her fist. "Oh, and she made

Victoria Frobisher apologize for tripping me as well. I wasn't expecting it,

really."

Harry just stared at her. He wanted to smile, because Ginny

was trying to make things right, but found he couldn't. His stomach beginning

to feel queasy, the tiny voice in his head told him that maybe, just maybe, he

hadn't wanted Ginny to straighten it all out. Maybe he just wanted to leave things be; it'd be easier that way.

Easier? To do...?

He shook his head free of the disconcerting thought and

forced himself to think about something else. He held the jar up to his face

again and studied the disgusting creature inside intensely.

The door opened, and the overly-large Potions professor

entered. "Harry!" he greeted jovially, smiling and wiping at his face with a

handkerchief. "You've gotten into a spot of trouble again, then? No problem, of

course, as-"

"Luna's told me about the Hubboobs," he interrupted, a bit

crankily.

"Bubhubs, Harry my

boy! If Miss Lovegood here can procure them as she says she can," Slughorn

said, shooting Luna a quick glance-"then we'll be using their wings for next

Monday's class."

"Alright then, let's go Luna," said Harry shortly, putting

the jar back into the crate and starting out the door, not caring to be here

longer than he had to.

Luna jumped off the table, her robes sliding behind her, and

followed him out. They walked in silence, Harry's footsteps loud and impatient;

Luna's light and easy.

"She misses you, Harry. I can tell."

Harry didn't look at her. "I know." He was saved from

expounding upon this subject when Hagrid's booming voice greeted them at the

front doors.

"Hullo, Harry!" Hagrid called out with a smile as Filch

watched him sulkily. "An' Luna, isn' it?" Luna smiled back, and Harry could

only guess that her opinion of Hagrid had somehow changed over the past year. He

made a mental note to ask her about it. "Well come on then, I'll be watchin'

from me cabin, 'snot too far from there..."

Soon he was leading Harry and Luna to the garden behind his

cabin, and pointed to a massive clump of bushes and undergrowth a minute or

two's walk from his giant tomatoes. "O'course, Luna must know th' way." He shook his great shaggy head, saying, "Ne'er

could catch 'em, I was always too big ta get in." With that, he told them he'd

be right in the cabin, but checking on them from a ways periodically, and to

send up green sparks from their wands if they needed anything.

The pair said goodbye as Hagrid waved them off under

watchful eyes and made their way to the clump of bushes. They were so thick

Harry wondered how they were to get inside, but Luna quickly answered that; she

crouched down low and whispered, "This way," before crawling into a hole that

seemed to only just have enough room

to allow her through.

Harry crawled after her, forcing himself to look down and

not straight ahead at Luna's backside. A moment or so later he found that they

were in some sort of a hollow within the bushes, but it was so dark he couldn't

see a thing. He reached for his wand, but almost as if Luna knew what he was

doing, he heard her whisper, "No lights" and touch his hand to stop him.

Harry flinched instinctively, and instantly wished he hadn't

when Luna took her hand back. "If there's a light the Bubhubs will know we're

here and stay away," she murmured, rustling about in her robe pocket.

"What are you looking for?" Harry whispered curiously.

"Amortentia, to attract the Bubhubs. I stole a bottle of it while the Professor

was out," she answered casually.

"What do you mean, you stole

it?" Harry asked, surprised.

"The Bubhubs only

come here from deep in the forest a few times a year, to mate, and it is very

hard to catch them at all, they're so rare." There was a pop! As Luna pulled the stopper off of the potion container, and

Harry was struck by an assortment of alluring scents filling his nostrils.

"I wasn't very interested in organizing Professor Slughorn's

potion ingredients, so I told him I'd be able to catch some Bubhubs for him out

of season and he agreed immediately. If I would have told him about needing Amortentia,

he would have been able to do the job himself, and we would still be in the

dungeons," Luna finished logically, splashing some of the love potion on the

bushes and ground.

Harry had to grin.

Luna was sneaky, like Ginny.

Like Ginny. He sighed,

and a disturbing thought entered his brain. What if he were tricking himself? What

if he was attracted to a girl that had many attributes as the one he was

supposed to be dating? But then again, he reasoned, the girls' cleverness was

probably the only thing they had in common, besides the fact that they were

both females. This cheered him up a bit, and as the Amortentia got stronger as

Luna soaked the surrounding area, he found himself trying to identify each

scent. There was the flowery, woodsy smell that belonged to Ginny, but it was

faint, overpowered by a familiar aroma he couldn't place, a strange mix of what

he soon categorized as freshly cut flowers, earth... He closed his eyes and

concentrated. Gingersnaps...? And... oranges?

Luna went on. "I heard Hermione Granger discussing it with

Ronald Weasley in the corridor a few days ago-I assume they were studying for

finals, although I'm not quite sure why Hermione seemed so embarrassed..."

Harry swallowed back a chuckle as he remembered Hermione

describing Amortentia from her perspective, and could see why she had been so

embarrassed when talking about it with Ron. Then, too suddenly, it hit him. His

stomach dropped into his knees but yet his heart rate increased. There was no

denying it now... He knew that smell,

having only discovered it the previous night-

"What do you

smell, Harry?" Luna asked dreamily, inhaling deeply.

"Why don't you tell me what you smell first?" he quickly asked

instead, not realizing the nature of this until he closed his mouth. What does Luna find attractive? he

wondered nervously.

"Violets and radish shampoo," she answered.

"Oh." It was hard to ignore his discontent at her answer. That

was the second time he felt Luna had rejected him, though she didn't know it. He

closed his eyes and tried to shake the feeling off. He didn't need this, it was

time to let this whole thing go.

Luna was not attracted to him. Period. Get over it.

He nearly burst with frustration. Shaking his head hard, he

made a decision then and there-he would go back to Ginny, and let his newfound

feelings for Luna fade. Ginny liked him. Ginny was safe. Luna was neither.

Harry was already planning it in his mind: he'd spend all of

his free time with Ginny, being the best boyfriend he could be, and sooner or

later they would learn to love each other, and then he would finally, finally

receive his fireworks kiss.

Damn. Why'd he even think it? It all came back down to the

fireworks kiss. It was best to forget all about that too, he decided, no matter

how hard it was. It would come naturally, he tried to assure himself. Luna had

said that love took time...

"Do you hear something?" Luna whispered into the darkness,

breaking him from his thoughts.

Harry tensed and listened hard. "No," he told her after a

moment. "Did you think it was a-uh-Bubhub?"

"No, I thought it might have been something else from the

forest," she replied. "You didn't think the Amortentia would only attract

Bubhubs, did you?"

This was something Harry had not thought of. "You mean other

things from the forest would..." He

trailed off, feeling squirmish-what if Aragog's crew smelled the love potion? It'd probably smell like fresh human, he

though cynically.

"Oh, don't worry," she assured him. "Many of the forest's

creatures are really nice, I've met a few-"

"You haven't met Aragog," Harry muttered, but Luna didn't

seem to hear him.

"-and besides, if they aren't so nice, we just need to place

a barrier around the bush or cast sleeping spells on them," she added

cheerfully.

"Okay," Harry agreed, although silently he reminded himself

to be extra-alert. He knew firsthand about more than a few of the not-so-nice

creatures Luna spoke of.

"It's funny, isn't it? Amortentia?" Luna whispered some time

later, sounding a bit awed. By now the two had gotten uncomfortable sitting up

in the space-especially Harry, as the top of his head had gotten scratched

quite a few times by branches and thorns-and they were laying on their backs,

side by side. The space couldn't accommodate Harry's feet, though, and they were

stuck in some brambles ahead of him. There had been no sign of the Bubhubs, but

they had already had put a strange-looking deer with one horn and a blue nose

to sleep nearby.

Harry, his head right

above Luna's on the ground, waited for her to continue. He was both comfortable

and uncomfortable at the same time; he was enjoying this quiet time with Luna,

but now that he had considered her off-limits, he was eager to get back to

Ginny and turn everything right-way-up again. Even so, he was positively nervous-his

whole right side was pressed against Luna's, and despite the decision he made

tonight, he couldn't help relishing the feel. He was desperately attempting not

to dwell on it.

However, the Amortentia's formula had not changed, which

confused him. Ginny's scent was still weak and Luna's strong.

"One sip and you're taken over," Luna was saying softly, "totally

infatuated with the person who gave it to you, whether you know them or not,

had any feelings for them or not..."

Alarm bells started going off in Harry's mind...

"...although infatuation isn't actual love, really..."

The strongest love

potion in the world...

"...love is stronger than that, though, isn't it? True love..."

Harry jolted straight up. "Y-you!" he spluttered, eyes wide.

"What?" Luna sat up too, sounding confused but yet... could he

really hear a bit of hopefulness in her voice?

"You slipped me love potion!" he accused furiously, beyond

caring about who or what would hear. "That's

why I've been-why I couldn't stop thinking about-I can't believe you'd do something like that!"

"I'd never do that," said Luna, her voice low and wavering.

"I'd never-"

"I knew it!" Harry yelled, banging his fist down the ground.

It hurt, having hit several rough twigs, but he ignored the pain. "I knew there was no logical way I could

ever think I-I had anything close to feelings

for you! Damn it, Luna..." He hung his head. "You're just like the rest of them,

aren't you?"

Luna's long mane of hair touched his face as she shook her

head vehemently. "Harry, I didn't do it, I-"

"Just stay away from me," he told her firmly, breathing

hard. "Just stay away from me and Ginny." He pulled out his wand and wordlessly

blasted a hole in the bush with the Reductor Curse and staggered through,

blinking back unexpected tears.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Just a Kiss (Chapter 08 - The Box of Chocolates)

Author Name: e-chan16

Owl the author: here.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: OotP, HBP. Written between Order of Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.

Genre: Romance, Angst

Era: The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years

Main Character(s): H, Luna

Ship(s): H/Luna, Hr/R

Summary: One simple question: "Harry, what do you think about when you kiss Ginny?" That's when all the trouble started, and thanks to Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter's world is turned upside-down.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Notes:

Harry swallowed hard,

knowing he resembled a dog with its tail between its legs.

"I... want to be with

you again."

Ginny stared.

Twenty minutes earlier...

His mind was going crazy-Harry could hardly think straight. He

didn't know why he felt this way... not so much angry as hurt.

And it hurt bad.

He stopped and looked back at the bush he had just left. The

hole he had made was still smoking, and somehow he... expected Luna to come through it any second, pleading her innocence.

She didn't.

Well I don't care,

Harry thought furiously after waiting a few moments. She can stay in the stupid bush if she wants to! His fiery gaze

went from the bush to the castle, chest heaving.

She lied to me! His

heart pounded so hard in his chest it hurt. I

can't believe I actually thought we could...

She's not who I

thought she was.

Damnit! He could feel the tears coming on. Why did it hurt so damn bad?

No! He wouldn't cry. Not over this. Not over a fake.

Not over Luna.

He made it back to the castle, wiping hard at his eyes.

Filch let him in, and maybe the heavens had opened up and shined on Harry

Potter, because Filch did not question him in any way. He didn't bother him,

ask him why Luna wasn't with him, or why he was empty-handed, and Harry was

thankful.

He was on his way upstairs when someone caught his arm.

"Oh!" A shorter girl was looking up at him anxiously. "You're Harry Potter,

right?"

"No, I'm the Bloody Baron," Harry threw back irritably. The

last thing he needed was another one like her...

The girl ignored his rudeness and held out a scroll.

"Hermione Granger let me borrow her Arithmancy notes

because I joined that S.P.E.W thing-"

Despite himself, Harry made a face. He hadn't known that

Hermione was still holding up with S.P.E.W., but then realized that if he had

truly thought that then he didn't know Hermione very well.

"-and she had left this inside by accident...She was really

excited, I think, about having another member, because she doesn't seem the

type to misplace things-" She was nervously twirling a piece of brown hair

around her finger, and Harry wondered

why she seemed to be making excuses for Hermione misplacing the paper. It

wasn't like it mattered to him.

Harry took the scroll of parchment from her and tucked it

into his pocket. "I'll give it to her." He looked up. "That's what you wanted,

right?"

"Yes. Make sure it gets to her right away," she instructed,

suddenly firm. She watched Harry carefully as she spoke again, as if trying to

tell him something with her eyes. "Don't show it to anyone, okay?"

"Yeah. Whatever." He started back

up the stairs, but the girl spoke again.

"Hey-Harry?"

Harry turned, wondering what it could be now. "What?"

"You know, life is like a box of chocolates," she said knowingly,

her eyes sparkling. "You never know what you're gonna

get."

"O-kay..." Harry frowned, confused.

Where had that come from? Had the whole world gone insane? "I think I've heard

that somewhere before..." he mumbled.

The girl suddenly looked worried. "Have you ever heard of Forrest

Gump?" she asked, nervously twirling that piece of hair around her finger

again.

Harry shook his head. "No, I've never been there."

"Good." The girl was instantly happier. "Well-see ya!" she called, turning around and going back down the

hallway.

He shrugged and continued up the stairs. Although that had

been weird, he was grateful for the diversion.

If life's like a box

of chocolates, he thought, then mine is full of

Hagrid's rock cakes.

He had just passed the Library when he saw Ginny. She was

just leaving the Library, her bag slung over her shoulder. She walked fast with

her head down, as if she had blinders on either side of her head. Harry nearly

turned to hide behind the coat of armor on his left, not exactly being

prepared-what was he going to say to her? "I

know the past two days have been really crazy, but I found out Luna somehow

gave me Amormentia and-" The voice in his head

silenced; thinking about what Luna had done was still difficult to deal with.

"Harry?"

He jumped. "Ginny!" The name was strangled in his throat.

His ex-girlfriend was standing right next to him and he hadn't noticed.

"What are you doing?" she asked softly, eyes on the floor

Harry swallowed hard, knowing he resembled a dog with its

tail between its legs.

"I... want to be with you again."

Ginny stared. For a millisecond her mouth twitched as if she

wanted to smile, but that was quickly crushed. Her eyes roved Harry over and he

realized her apprehension. He was dirty, smudges of mud on his knees, elbows,

and face, with bits of twig and leaf stuck in his hair; his hand was slightly

bloody from when he had hurt it earlier, and his eyes were red.

"Why?"

Harry was taken aback. "...What?"

Ginny blinked hard, shaking her head. "Why-why do you want

me now? You said-"

"I was wrong."

"No..." Ginny frowned, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm

not stupid, Harry," she told him, sounding more like herself. "What happened

these past two days?"

"People like Lavender and Parvati spreading rum-" he

started, but Ginny cut him off, shaking her head again.

"No-I mean..." She stared at him dead-on. "What really happened between you and Luna?"

Harry froze.

"It doesn't matter," he finally choked out, turning away

from Ginny's penetrating stare. "I found out she slipped me love potion."

His words hung in the air like a looming raincloud.

And then, to his surprise, Ginny laughed.

"Luna... slip you love potion?" she asked incredulously,

fighting back giggles. "Harry-do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?"

He gaped at her, lost for words.

Ginny took his arm. "Harry-I'm not sure of all that's been

going on, and I know Luna can be..." She grinned. "Well, Luna sometimes, but she would never do something like that."

"So..." said Ginny, her voice lowering after Harry didn't

respond, "you... you thought you were in love with Luna."

"No!" Harry answered instantly, but a sharp look from Ginny

made him add, "Not exactly..." Gods, could it get any worse than this? Telling

his ex-girlfriend about how he had felt about one of her friends while they

were dating?

Unable to help herself, Ginny rolled her eyes. "So you found

yourself attracted to her... a lot."

"She wasn't attracted to me, though," Harry murmured,

without realizing he had said it aloud. His own words surprised him, and a

single thought rose to the top of his brain-something that was in his face the

whole time, and he had been too blind to see it-Luna did not like him.

Luna was not attracted to him.

She had rejected his advances once and her Amortentia was...

not him.

If Luna didn't like

him, why would she give him love

potion?

"And because of that

you thought she gave you love potion?"

Harry didn't respond-he didn't have to. She knew the answer,

and besides, his look and the events of the past two days said it all. He was

too shocked by this internal revelation to speak, anyway.

"You must have felt really strongly about her," Ginny said.

Harry nodded, unable to look her in the eye.

"So you thought that after you'd found out about her... betrayal you'd run back to me, right?"

Ginny's eyes glinted and her tone took on an edge Harry hadn't expected. "Like

I'm just there for you to use anytime you want? Have me, leave me, run back,

and do it all again? Like I wouldn't care?" She snatched her hand away from his

arm as if she'd been burned.

"Look," said Harry desperately, taking her arm back, "it's

just that I realized-I realized that-that I... thought..." he trailed off slowly, a

strange feeling washing over him like a warm wave.

He let go of Ginny and took a step back; it was all suddenly

so surreal, like he was watching a movie-Ginny

the Red VS Harry the Dumb,

and his ears was filled of the sound of the inside of a seashell...

He felt like he was

standing aside looking at himself... and he didn't like what he saw.

"You're right," he said suddenly, breaking back into

reality.

Harry took her hands in his. "I'm sorry, Ginny. I'm really

sorry." And he honestly was. "I didn't mean for it to be like this."

Ginny's anger fled her, even in her posture-her shoulders

lowered and her muscles relaxed. She opened her mouth to speak, but failed to

talk, and her face turned to Harry inquiringly.

He swallowed. This was hard. "I can't be with you. I care about

you, Ginny, but... this wasn't meant to be. Not like this." His eyes searched

hers. "And somehow, I think you know that," he said slowly, grasping the truth

of this as he spoke the words.

At first Ginny was silent, and her stare seemed to look through Harry rather than at him. Then

she nodded, her eyes filling with tears. "You took over four years of my life

without knowing it," she started, looking at the floor. "All I could think

about was you, Harry Potter, and how perfect you were..." She allowed herself a

giggle and touched his cheek, blinking hard so she wouldn't cry. "No one could

really compare to you, Harry. Not a one, although I tried not to judge. And

then I finally had you for my own...

and it was like I'd won some sort of contest." She sighed. "I didn't want you

to be my prize, I wanted you to be you,

with me, but I couldn't..."

It was difficult for Harry to hear, yet somehow he'd always

had a nagging feeling about it, like he'd known. Ginny, although as she got

older she hid it well, had simply been in admiration of him; infatuated, like

she overdosed on Amortentia upon first sight the famous Harry Potter, with no

sign of recovery.

He felt sorry for her.

Ginny closed her eyes. "I couldn't see it like that. Until now." She squeezed his other hand. "And now," she told

him, frustration flowing into her voice, "I'm

here, and you're here, and everything

has suddenly become clear as glass

and I-we can't..." She broke, and the tears flowed freely. "Luna's not the fake,

Harry. I am."

Harry pulled her into him and hugged her. Ginny wasn't his

girlfriend anymore, but she was his friend, and he wasn't going to let her hurt

like this without knowing she could still count on him, prize or not.

"I'm just as bad as the rest of them," Ginny mumbled,

pulling back from Harry and wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands.

Harry shook his head. "Nobody's perfect."

Ginny punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Thanks," she told him sarcastically, a

wavering laugh escaping her lips. She turned away from him. "You should talk to

Luna, Harry."

"I can't," he mumbled to her back. "I..."

She sniffed. "You were really mean to her, weren't you?"

He nodded, ashamed, then realized she couldn't see him.

"Yes." Ginny had confessed that she was what he had accused Luna of being,

someone who only wanted him for shallow reasons. Yet he hadn't gotten half as upset with her as he had with

Luna. He felt horrible.

"You can be a real jerk sometimes," Ginny remarked between

sniffs. Harry grimaced, but could not help cracking a smile. "Talk to her."

His stomach was steadily being invaded by butterflies. "But

what if she-"

"She'll listen to you. She's Luna." Her tone was firm and

almost fond, but Harry detected a bit of bitterness, too. "Do it," she urged, her voice cracking.

"Okay," he promised, watching her hair. He wanted to say something more to her, to

tell her something to make her feel better, but he couldn't. Instead, as he

walked away, he silently wished that Ginny would find someone better than him.

Ginny was finally left alone in the huge, cold corridor. Her

lips trembled badly as she tried in vain to stop the tears that kept falling.

Too caught up in her troubles, she didn't hear the footsteps

that sounded behind her, but she did hear the smooth, drawling voice of the

owner.

"What are you

crying for, Weasley?"


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Just a Kiss (Chapter 09 - The Fireworks)

Author Name: e-chan16

Owl the author: here.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: OotP, HBP. Written between Order of Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.

Genre: Romance, Angst

Era: The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years

Main Character(s): H, Luna

Ship(s): H/Luna, Hr/R

Summary: One simple question: "Harry, what do you think about when you kiss Ginny?" That's when all the trouble started, and thanks to Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter's world is turned upside-down.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Notes:

He was scared.

Harry's palm lay flat on the door to the Astronomy Tower.

He knew Luna was up here-he'd combed the whole castle, even her Common Room, and was only rewarded with snickers and jeers. It had taken nearly an hour or even more, he hadn't been keeping much track of time. He wanted to find Luna, yet he didn't; he was stalling.

I can't do this. Harry closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cool wooden door. What would Luna say? What exactly was he supposed to say? "Luna, I'm sorry I thought you gave me love potion-by the way, I even think I love you or something! Isn't it great?" And what would Luna do? Accept him with open arms, telling him she'd felt exactly the same and forgive him? Yes, and perhaps Draco Malfoy would be announcing he and Harry's upcoming wedding in front of the whole school as well...

Harry shook his head and ran an uneasy hand through his hair. What the hell was he doing here, thinking he could just up and convince Luna to... not hate him. To be with him.

The thought made him laugh. A small, sad laugh. His heart wasn't in it.

It made him feel as if he were in the Triwizard Tournament again, waking up on the morning of the Second Task after a full night in the Library, desperately searching for help to no avail... and knowing he had nothing at all; knowing that he'd be the only participant that would not be able to complete the task... because he'd given up.

He turned around and walked away, leaving the door unopened behind him.

For a few moments, that is.

Defeated, Harry had only gone a ways down the circling staircase when a new thought made him stop dead in his tracks.

Who said it was supposed to be easy?

Harry gasped, realizing he was teetering dangerously on the edge of the stair, and after a series of acrobatics even circus performers would envy, his backside eventually found the stair with a loud slap! that echoed in the long, narrow stairwell.

"What am I doing?" he asked, and the question echoed all around him, as if ten invisible Harrys were on the stairs.

He was giving up? After everything he'd endured?

Harry's hands balled into fists. He wasn't weak. There was no way he'd be able to live with the knowledge that he faced Lord Voldemort one-on-one but was too scared to talk to Luna.

More importantly, Harry knew, was that maybe Luna hated him, maybe she'd never forgive him, and maybe he'd make an ass of himself... but he had to tell her how he felt about her. How right it felt to hold her hand, to hold her close. How He didn't have a choice, really-it had been hell keeping it all inside for two days and the notion of adding even two weeks to that was torture. He couldn't hide his feelings anymore. It wasn't worth it.

With a quickness that came from his old days of escaping from his cousin Dudley and his crew, Harry was back on his feet and running for the Tower door.

At least Luna would know he was sorry, and that he didn't dislike her in the least. Not even close.

If he wanted Luna to be his... he had to try. Easy or not.

Harry busted through the Tower door, a secret part of him feeling very superhero-like indeed, and stopped so fast he nearly left skid marks on the stone floor.

Luna was sitting on one of the battlement's merlon, looking up at the moon. Her long hair was messy from being whipped about by the wind, and one of her legs was pulled lazily to her chest. Plus, for some reason Harry didn't even attempt to understand, she was barefoot; her socks and shoes were discarded on the floor nearby. But the moonlight gave Luna an almost eerie, shimmering glow, and Harry was dumbstruck.

She was beautiful.

"You've been doing that for awhile."

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice. He must have been staring at Luna for longer than he'd realized... because she'd realized it too. "I'm sorry," he breathed, around the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat.

Luna didn't respond, but returned her gaze heavenward.

Er... so she hadn't said anything. Okay, okay, that's not a really a bad sign, Harry reassured himself hastily, determined not to lose the courage he had managed to scrounge up. Even so, he found it somewhat difficult to force his feet to move forward as he headed over to Luna, swallowing several times in an attempt to remove the lump from his throat. It wasn't only uncomfortable, as was to be expected, but he could hardly get a straight word out.

Harry gingerly sat down on the "tooth" of stone that was closest to Luna, though it separated them by at least a foot or more. He moved to face her, the Astronomy Tower on one side and the school grounds on the other, very far below. But it didn't matter-he couldn't take his eyes off of the girl in front of him, bathed in moonlight. She was still staring at the moon as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Luna," Harry tried, and the words came out all mangled.

She didn't answer, didn't move a muscle.

The lump got bigger. "Luna." Harry was taken aback-how could she ignore him like this? He was practically right next to her but suddenly she was acting as if he weren't there, like he wasn't anyone to her! His chest restricted suddenly-was he anyone to Luna at all?

Probably not.

Sure, everyone knew about her involvement at the Department of Mysteries last summer, but it was sort of a fluke-Luna had just gotten caught up in the whirlwind of craziness that day, that was all.

Harry touched his throat; the lump remained. But she did want to help me, she fought beside me, he couldn't refrain from thinking, even when I was being a jerk. Remorsefully, Harry also remembered that it had been Luna's idea to use the Thestrals to get to London. Their conversation at the end of last year trigged his memory, too. It was funny-he had been the one who felt sorry for Luna, whose possessions had been stolen, but yet Luna had ended up making him feel better about Sirius's passing instead.

But he had to admit that Luna was almost as much of a mystery to him now as she was then. ...Yet, he had become practically obsessed with her.

But wasn't it so much more than that? He wanted to get to know her and find out the Luna mystery, he wanted to have fun with her, to have her in his arms to hold...

"Luna!" Harry had cried out before he even knew it. He didn't care why anymore! The sound of his voice breaking was jarring, but he pushed on urgently. "Please, just listen to-"

Luna stood up. "Harry."

"-me..." Harry trailed off, too quiet for his own ears. He stared at Luna questionably, hopefully-

Her hands. Harry did a double take, not believing what he was seeing.

Luna's hands were shaking.

Luna wandered over to the Tower's west side, the one that faced the Quidditch Pitch. She was wringing her hands, twisting and turning them over and over again behind her back.

What could Luna be nervous about? Harry had to wonder, his heart pounding at the sight. He didn't even know Luna could be nervous.

"I lied," Luna said suddenly, closing her eyes.

What? Harry waited with bated breath, but she didn't continue. "About what?" he asked, his voice wobbling terribly as he slowly made his way over to her. It couldn't be, he told himself, no, surely it couldn't be about the-

"About the Amortentia," Luna told him, her voice shaking a little, too.

"No..." Harry mumbled, covering his eyes. Dread dropped hard into the pit of his stomach, making him feel as if he'd just been socked by a heavyweight boxer; the lump in his throat doubled in size.

But Luna hadn't finished. "About... the way it smelled. To me."

She sighed and walked over to Harry, who was rather dazed by this revelation. "Don't you want to know what it smelled like?" she asked him after a moment, eyes on the floor. She had finally stopped wringing her hands and lowered them to her sides, but they were fisted, Harry noticed, and it seemed as if they struggling to stay that way.

Harry nodded, the only thing he was capable of doing at the moment. He felt numb, and yet he trembled, unsure of what to expect from Luna.

Luna took a deep breath, unnerving Harry even more with her show of vulnerability, and took an even closer step forward. Another few inches or so and he could kiss her. The thought sent a chill down his spine. "I smell the wind, Harry, broom polish and shaving cream, and something else, something sweet and musky..." She touched his arm, and Harry was struck by how sensitive his arm had suddenly become, like he could feel each and every cell of her fingertips...

Then, finally, finally, Luna's eyes, turning completely silver in the moonlight, met his. "It smelled... like you."

Harry's head was buzzing. Then again, maybe the sound was coming from somewhere outside. But there was buzzing, he knew that. Buzzing and thumping. Yes. Loud, fast, thumps.

"I didn't want to tell you," Luna was explaining through all of the buzzing Harry heard, "because of Ginny, and I didn't want to make things worse for her, or you..." Harry understood that Luna had only been trying to protect them, and he felt an upsurge of affection for her. "I wasn't exactly sure how you felt about me, either, and I know that some boys might not be very happy to find out that Loony Lovegood might have feelings for them," she added in her factual way, though her eyes seemed sad.

"Luna?" Harry's voice, now clear and crisp as the night air around him, ceased all the noise and a part of him couldn't help but be relieved. His eyes stuck on Luna's, he groped blindly for her hand and caught it easily; the warmth and familiarity of it was reassuring and exciting at the same time.

"Yes, Harry?" Luna's eyes were shining and there were two small patches of pink on her cheeks. Harry couldn't help cracking a grin at the sight of her, especially knowing his cheeks were burning as well.

"I like you." The words rolled off Harry's tongue easily, and the weight of holding it in lifted from his back. He stood up straighter, feeling the difference immediately. "I don't care what anyone says. And... I'm sorry about the way I acted earlier," he added, lacing his fingers with Luna's. "I was a complete ass and I don't want you to be cross with me." He sighed. "...I didn't want to face the truth."

"It's okay," said Luna thoughtfully. "A part of me didn't want to face the truth, either."

"But I hurt you," said Harry remorsefully, and shook his head.

Luna gave his hand a light squeeze. "That's true, but I still understand." She smiled up at him. "And I like you, too."

"Luna..." Harry's eyes softened. This had all begun with Luna's question-that one little question about kissing and the fireworks kisses. He could hardly believe how far it had gone and how much had changed in the past two days, but he was quite happy that the rollercoaster ride was over.

Well, not yet...

He had to know.

The hand that wasn't holding Luna's suddenly moved to her waist, and Luna's free hand automatically snaked behind his neck. Harry was certain that she had been waiting for this too, making him all the more wanting. He let go of her hand to place his palm in the small of her back, pulling her close, and Luna grasped his arm in return and closed her eyes.

Harry kissed her, and he was someplace else; the electricity of their connection gave him a rush and suddenly he was-was he?-flying, they were flying!

Or falling! Harry was beyond caring now, he just wanted Luna, who-Gods-felt so good...

Luna curled her fingers into his hair and he instinctively deepened the kiss, savoring the taste of her, the smell of her, and the feel of her at once-this was Luna, and he had her at last.

Harry wasn't exactly sure where he was at first when they broke apart and he finally opened his eyes. There was so much noise. But who cared? Grinning stupidly at Luna, he moved in to kiss her again. She evaded him, pulling urgently on his arm. "Luna, what-?"

Luna's eyes were widening madly as she pointed over his shoulder. "Look Harry, look!" she cried as a flash of pink suddenly lit up her face. Disbelieving, Harry spun around just as flares of purple and green exploded into the heavens.

Fireworks! Not the imaginary, in-your-head kind, but real live fireworks! And not just one or two, but loads of them in varying colors and sizes. Harry had no idea where they were coming from, but there they were, appearing and exploding all over the sky.

Harry looked back at Luna, smiling wider than he'd ever thought possible. "Do you suppose I've gotten my mother's message about the fireworks a bit mixed up?" she asked him cheerfully.

Harry grinned and leaned his head against hers. "Maybe," he said with a laugh, and kissed her again.

Their were screams and laughs amid Gryffindor Tower as people rushed about in their bedclothes, each trying to find the window with the best view. "Hurry Hermione, come see!" Ron shouted up at the girls' dorms, his tee shirt twisted in places.

Hermione emerged at the top of the stairway in her bathrobe, rubbing her eyes. "What is it Ron? Did Harry or Ginny make it back yet? It's been hours-" Parvati and Lavender appeared, squeezing around Hermione and bounding down the stairs, giggling.

"No, but check it out, it's really cool!" He beckoned her along and ran to the nearest window.

Hermione followed disinterestedly, annoyed at the noise level-the whole castle would be up at this rate, and then what would Professor McGonagall say? She was supposed to help keep the castle in order-she was a Prefect! "Ron, I don't know what's going on, but-" Having reached the window, Hermione blinked twice before she could continue. "Fireworks?"

"Yeah, like Fred and George's but different! I wonder who did 'em, they're fantastic!" Ron told her excitedly, as a flare exploded into a multi-colored mass the size of a small asteroid. Various levels of oohs and aaahs followed, but Hermione was speechless.

Ron scratched the back of his head. "...You okay, 'Mione?"

Her voice was tight. "Where's Harry?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"Not back yet, remember?" Ron gave her shoulder a quick shake. "Stop worrying so much. I'm sure he's fine, he's Harry, right?" He laughed. "And Ginny can take care of herself."

Slowly but surely, a smile spread across Hermione's face. "Yes... I suppose you're right," she agreed airily.

"So enjoy the view!" Ron urged, guiding her closer to the window so they could get a better look.

She wasn't one hundred percent sure, but it seemed as if her theory was correct! It all adds up, Hermione thought, extremely pleased with this achievement and the fact that the answer had come about so quickly. If Harry had hadn't told her about his escapades with Luna the other day, she'd never have guessed. But... should I tell Harry? After all, I'm not even sure Luna knows she's-

"GO GRYFFINDOR!" Ron cheered along with some of the other students as gigantic red and gold fireworks exploded simultaneously, and put his arm around her. Blushing a bit at his open show of affection, Hermione nevertheless got ready to tell the room to quiet down when a chorus of boos were heard outside, as well as from the direction of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Common Rooms. Clearly, Gryffindors were not the only ones awake.

Slytherin's dungeons were too far below for them to hear any hisses, if they knew of the fireworks' existence in the first place. Either way, Hermione knew that somehow, they'd make their voices heard soon enough.

"Hufflepuff rots!" Seamus Finnigan taunted, yelling out of the window, and the rest of the room responded with loud cheers of assessment.

"GRYFFINDORS ARE STUPIDER THAN HUFFLEPUFFS!" a bunch of Ravenclaws screamed.

"No we're not!" Hermione shouted back indignantly, just as there was another blast and a sparkling green SLYTHERIN RULES! was hanging over the lake. This set off the loudest boos yet and caused a wave of backlash from the other three houses collectively as more fireworks and insults were added to the mix, in the color of whatever House it came from.

Hermione sighed, counting down the minutes (seconds?) until her Head of House appeared to shut them all up. Letting off a round of giggles when SNAPE TUCKS THE SLYTHERINS IN AT NIGHT was blasted into the air by Ron, she decided to have fun while it lasted-but readied herself to run at the first sound of stomping feet, a sure sign of an angry McGonagall on the way.

She'd worry about everything else in the morning.

Sitting in a very large and thoroughly scourgified window somewhere in the relatively empty Owlery, Ginny laughed, shaking out her now messy hair. "That's all you could come up with? 'Slytherin Rules'? Somehow I expected more poetic from you, Malfoy."

Though his hair was hanging in his face, Ginny could still see Draco cut his eyes from where he was half-sitting against the window frame, right next to her. The top two buttons of his dress shirt were open and his black, green, and silver striped tie was loose around his neck. "I see you failed to notice that you have come up with nothing yourself, Weasley." He snorted. "I'm not surprised."

Ginny shook her head and looked away, clearly hurt. "I was only joking, you know. Why did you have to say that? I thought... we were having a nice time."

"You started it," Draco replied coolly, though he looked uncomfortable with her reaction.

"You were being defensive," she retorted.

He ignored her. "And you called me 'Malfoy' first, too."

"I've always called you Malfoy!" said Ginny, exasperated.

Draco raised an eyebrow in mock amusement. "That's funny, because you weren't half an hour ago-"

"Draco!" The few owls still around rustled their feathers in alarm.

"Oh, now you want to call me-"

"Stop it!" she cried angrily, red hair flying as she jumped off of the window-sill to the Owlery floor. One or two owls took to the air, hooting, and flew out a window.

Spinning around, Ginny folded her arms beneath her chest and glared at Draco. "I'm not the only one who was calling someone out of name tonight," she reminded him. "I needed someone-and for whatever reason, I know you did too. And you know what? I don't regret it, either! Do you?"

"No!" Draco looked surprised at his honesty, but he quickly changed it into a mask of defiance.

Ginny stared him down. "Then don't try to throw it in my face!"

The remaining owls screeched loudly and took off after the others.

Draco tore his gray eyes away from hers first. "Why the hell did you want to come up here, anyway?" he asked tersely, reaching into his back pocket. He pulled out a silver cigarette case emblazoned with the Malfoy Crest, and with a snap opened it and pulled out a slim white cigarette with a dark purple filter.

Ginny watched him edgily. "I was going to set off a bunch of Filibuster Fireworks when Harry and Luna finally kissed," she told him, answering him at any rate. The Astronmy Tower was in full view from their section of the Owlery, and so were the two figures on top-if you squinted.

A matching magical lighter was produced from the case, and Draco let out a low chuckle. Pulling out another cigarette, he offered it out to Ginny. She took it, albeit reluctantly.

Trying not to look awkward because she didn't smoke-and half-wondering why she even cared what Draco thought-Ginny stuck the cigarette between her lips in what she thought was the correct fashion and leaned forward to allow Draco to light it. She managed to inhale a small amount of the smoke without coughing while Draco lit his own cigarette. "Why?" he asked her, after taking a long drag.

Ginny sighed and sat back down next to him, both thankful and surprised that he hadn't said a mean word about Harry all night. "Harry had said something to me about fireworks and kisses... I just thought it was what he really wanted." She snorted. "But someone else-or something else-beat me to it, I guess." She took another hit of the cigarette, attempting to inhale more this time. It didn't work, and she ended up hacking and coughing up the purple smoke.

Draco patted her on the back. "You don't smoke," he guessed.

Ginny coughed again. "No."

"It's okay." The gentleness of his tone flattered yet unnerved her a little too. Ginny remembered how he had held her while she cried, and told her the same thing then.

As if she thought she'd ever have Draco Malfoy console her, Ginny Weasley, a member of the clan his family hated, for anything! It had happened so quickly, but yet like clockwork, as if it had been planned by... someone or something, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she had been crying, and Draco had come up to hassle her; she was ready to come back with some stinging remark, but words had failed her then. She just cried.

Then, without a word, Draco's arms were suddenly around her, whispering soothing words in her ears. He had held her tight, but gently, as if she'd break if he made the wrong move.

Ginny didn't ask him why. To be quite honest, at first, she really hadn't cared. He let her cry on him, and that was enough for her.

Somehow they made their way to an empty classroom, and some things... happened, mainly an all-out snogging session with perks. I bet Ron would've loved to see that, she thought dryly, though she knew it would probably be a cold day in hell before she told him anything of the kind anytime soon. Now she and Draco were here in the Owlery, arguing one minute and sharing cigarettes the next. It wasn't normal. But she didn't care anymore.

Luna and Harry weren't normal, but maybe... neither was she. Or Draco or anybody else. They were all weird in their own ways, weren't they? Oh Gods. She was starting to sound like one of those After-School Specials, one of the only things her mother would allow her to watch on that Muggle television her father brought home when she was younger. (It was thrown out the next year when Fred and George were caught trying to hit each other with chairs-something on some wrestling program-and her mother swore never to have one in the house again.)

"I'm sorry."

Ginny glanced up at Draco, who was running a hand through his pale hair. His troubled eyes had dark circles under them, but there was sincerity in there, too.

"It's okay," she said, taking a page from his book. Ginny examined the lighted cigarette between her middle and index finger before taking another drag. It really wasn't so bad, when you got used to the taste and the bit of head rush in the beginning.

"You don't have to smoke that," said Draco, pulling the hand that held the cigarette down and away from her mouth.

"I know," Ginny replied, taking her arm back.

"Why are you still here?" he asked, sounding curious rather than confused.

She didn't answer, but a grin tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Smiling, Draco shook his head. "You don't know why, do you?"

Ginny blew out a puff of smoke and shrugged. "Nope."

Draco kissed her.

Much, much later that night, Harry was getting ready for bed after dropping Luna off at her Common Room some minutes earlier, when the fireworks and all the House rivalry hoopla had died down. His dorm was quiet except for a few snores from Ron and Neville, and he had just taken off his pants, ready to jump into bed, when a scroll of parchment fell out of the pocket.

"Oh yeah," he mused quietly, picking it up off of the ground. "Hermione's paper." The girl who had given it to him had been acting pretty oddly, really adamant that he not read the thing. The whole thing was utterly suspicious. Had she... wanted him to read it?

Maybe he could just take a peek? Harry eyed it mischievously, wondering...

No, he was reading into this too much. Besides, it was probably just some assignment or something. It was Hermione's, right?

Harry placed the scroll on his beside table and got into bed, but he couldn't sleep. His mind went from Luna to the scroll and back again, not matter what else he tried to think about.

After another twenty minutes of this, Harry grabbed the damn thing and opened it up, squinting both because it was dark and because he didn't have his glasses on.

It wasn't going to be anything interesting, anyway.

Luna Lovegood - Fireworks - ?

Kisses with the one you truly love makes you feel all kinds of extraordinary feelings according to Luna, Harry said; and the mentioning of "fireworks" in particular reminds me of something I've come across before, about the Ancient Gods and Magic.

Excerpt from Magical Legends and Lore by Hil Kinger, page 453-454:

"Just like the Love Goddess Aphrodite, her female descendants, the Amoras, also had a very interesting way of knowing when they had found their soulmate.

When such an Amora and a suitor kissed (Muggle or Magical) and magical sparks of vary colors and sizes suddenly appeared around them, it meant that the two were destined to be soulmates. This phenomenon was eventually named the Sparks of Passion. When the Sparks they appeared over a lucky couple in ancient times, the couple's family and friends held celebratory gatherings in their honor. This tradition would most likely be upheld today, but tracing Aphrodite's lineage has become nearly impossible.

While the appearance of the Sparks of Passion are not a binding contract that two soulmates must marry, it is commonly known that ancient Amoras mated for life."

Luna must be an Amora. Having heard the story of "firework kisses" through her mother, I can assume that her mother is also one of Aphrodite's descendants.

Harry's infatuated with Luna. It's painfully obvious how much he likes her now. If they kiss and the Sparks appear...

Could Harry and Luna really be soulmates?

I suppose there's only one way to find out.

H. J. G. ~ 04-06-1996

Harry read the paper twice to make sure he hadn't missed anything, rolled it back up, placed it back on his nightstand, and fell back into the pillows.

So... because Luna was one of Aphrodite's descendants, the Sparks of Passion would appear when she had found her soulmate.

And that person... and had been him. He was Luna's soulmate, and Luna was his.

If... he believed in any of that. Did he? He wasn't sure.

It was huge, HUGE to be seventeen, Harry Potter, and find out that your soulmate is Luna Lovegood-or anybody for that matter. He should drop dead, he should jump up and do something. Yell a lot, too, whether it's good or bad things.

But nothing really surprised Harry anymore. And besides... he didn't really mind.

Harry Potter went to bed that night with a smile on his face, his only thoughts of seeing Luna the next day.

Fin. (Psyche!)


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Just a Kiss (Chapter 10 - Epilogue: The Future)

Author Name: e-chan16

Owl the author: here.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: OotP, HBP. Written between Order of Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.

Genre: Romance, Angst

Era: The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years

Main Character(s): H, Luna

Ship(s): H/Luna, Hr/R

Summary: One simple question: "Harry, what do you think about when you kiss Ginny?" That's when all the trouble started, and thanks to Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter's world is turned upside-down.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Notes:

Two months later...

Nearly

everyone is gone, except for the five of us-Me, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and

Ronald, that is-and the teachers. Harry talked Professor McGonagall into

allowing us to stay for an extra day (none of us could figure out how he got

away with it, particularly since the Death Eaters' raid) and Ronald and Ginny's

parents made an exception (after Ronald

and Ginny argued with them for fifteen full minutes), so they went back home

after the funeral. Daddy is impatiently awaiting my arrival at home-he will

need my help with the "Tribute to Dumbledore" issue of the Quibbler.

We were

the only ones who weren't so desperate to leave Hogwarts just yet, and I don't

think Ginny wants to leave at all. She's been wandering around the castle as if

in a dream, lightly running her fingers along the walls and gazing at

everything with unfocused eyes.

She's been

depressed lately; more so than any of us, even Harry. Her mood changed quickly,

not that I can blame her, right after the Death Eater's attack on the castle. I

have a feeling though, that there is more to it than that. She had been so

happy before, even after Harry and I started dating-Ginny glowed, glowed like she knew the secret to happiness. She skipped

classes, stayed out after curfew, and always came to Dinner with a smile on her

face. The whole school had speculated why, but Ginny wasn't telling them.

She only

told me.

I asked

her why once, and Ginny had answered, "Because I thought you'd be the only one

who'd understand." Then she inhaled hard on the last of her cigarette and

flicked it to the wind. We were at what was becoming our usual spot in the back

of Hogwarts, behind the base of a tall gargoyle statue that concealed us from

view of any castle onlookers. Ginny and I could be found here a few times a

week simply talking or doing nothing at all, but no matter what we did, we

always enjoyed each other's company. We found the place when wandering about

the grounds one day after finding out our Potions class had been cancelled;

Ginny wanted to take a smoke break without word of it getting back to her

brother, and the statue's cover was nearly perfect.

I don't

know how to explain how we became better friends, actually-it just sort of

progressed, despite the fact that her ex-boyfriend was my new boyfriend and we

hadn't exactly been friends in the first place, just friendly. It was awkward at first, of course, as the whole castle

was going wild with rumors about the Ginny-Harry-Luna love triangle, but I

think we've gotten over it... mostly, anyway. There will still be times when hurt

feelings arise, but we try not to show it. We've gotten to know each other

better, too-Ginny even understands my sense of humor now, and gets that the odd

things I say really aren't so odd at all. She still laughs at them sometimes,

but it is a different kind of laughter now.

I saw that

she had gotten a letter today, very early in the morning. She and Hermione had

invited me to sleep in one of the Gryffindor dorms so I wouldn't have to be in

the empty Ravenclaw Commons all night. I wouldn't really have minded, but they

insisted, so I agreed with the exception that I sleep on the couch in the

Common Room instead of in a dorm. Sleeping in front of the fire seemed much

better than sleeping in an unfamiliar bed, and besides, I could tell that Ginny

wanted to be alone that night, so I didn't want to bunk in her room either.

Harry seemed content with me being just downstairs from him too, and kissed me

goodnight before he went upstairs to his dormitory.

He came

back down about half an hour later in his tee shirt and boxer shorts, his

blanket and pillow tucked haphazardly under his arm. "Couldn't sleep," he

mumbled, rubbing wearily at one eye, and held up the pillow in his other hand. "D'ya mind?"

I pulled

the blanket away from the space on my right and tapped the cushion. "Not a

bit." I felt my face warming up with pleasure and even a little excitement at

the prospect of sleeping together as Harry climbed in next to me. It took us

awhile to get situated (the couch really wasn't as big as it looked) as we

tried out a few different positions, and after a few unsuccessful attempts, I

grabbed my wand from the chipped coffee table and cast an Engorgement Charm on

the couch. We got comfortable lying down on our sides, propped up on elbows and

facing each other.

We stayed

up all night, talking, mostly. We talked about Dumbledore's funeral and what we

thought was going to happen now, if Voldemort could

possibly be stopped before he realized the full impact of Dumbledore's death.

We wondered if things would ever be the same again, who might be targeted next,

and the fate of Hogwarts... until Harry insisted that he'd rather talk about

pretty much anything else or he'd never get to sleep.

So we did,

but it wasn't until the heavens turned lavender with he first hints of sunlight

that Harry's eyes finally closed. By this time I was snuggled quite comfortably

in the crook between his shoulder and chest, ready to nap too, but I then I

started hearing this odd sort of drumming coming from upstairs. I would have

ignored it, but the sound came louder, more insistent, and I went to

investigate.

I deducted

it was coming from Ginny's dorm, and opened the door after climbing the stairs.

She was slumbering, but her eyes were puffy, like she had cried herself to

sleep. (It's not something I'm unfamiliar with.)

Immediately

I understood where the noise had been coming from. There was an eagle owl at

the window, tapping hard at the glass with his beak. "Ginny!" I exclaimed, and

ran to allow him inside.

At the

sound of her name, as if she hadn't been asleep at all, Ginny bolted right up,

spotted the eagle owl, and jumped out of bed. The owl stepped inside the window

and held out the scroll on its leg, which Ginny took right away. The bird

didn't stay to get Ginny's reply, and she looked very sad to see it go; she

stood staring at the window for several moments after it had flown away. Then

she read the letter, crushed it to her heart, and cried.

"I love

you," Harry says suddenly, surprising us both. The words burst from his mouth

like they'd been dying to leave his lips, and he has trouble looking at me. "I

mean it," he adds a moment later, his voice cracking, and my eyes never leave

his face. "Even if the Sparks are wrong, and we're not

soulmates. I just wanted you to know in case-anything ever happened." He

doesn't elaborate. He doesn't need to.

"But I'm

not afraid anymore," he continued, "because..." He glances upward and shakes his

head before meeting my eyes again. "Amor vincit omnia,

right Luna?"

He remembered.

Harry

wasn't unhappy with the Fates' decision.

He loved me.

If I were

anyone else, I might have thought it was too good to be true, but I'm not

anyone else. I'm Luna Lovegood. I believe in the impossible, in the improbable.

I believe

in love. (Though with a name like mine, I suppose you'd have to.)

"Oh Harry,

I love you too," I cried, throwing my arms around his neck, and I hear him let

out the breath he'd been holding. I kissed him and a laugh escapes his lips; my

hair tickles his nose.

Harry

grinned and leaned in to kiss me again. His lips are warm, and pretty, even,

when you look at them, and they're just right for mine-our kisses are perfect,

even the one where we both missed and my nose was injured in the process.

(Harry pecked it fondly in apology, and I felt much better afterwards.)

Some time

after our kissing session ended and the both of us had caught our breath, Harry

spoke again. His grin had faded.

"I have

something else to tell you," he said quietly, standing up. He shifted to gaze

out at the lake, hiding his face.

I stood up

as well. I didn't know what Harry was going to tell me, but I doubted it would

be happier news than his confession of love earlier. Harry took my hand in his,

as if bracing me, and leans down to whispers in my ear; I am not sure if it is

because he is worried that someone will overhear somehow or because he is

trying to tell me the news gently.

With a few

well-chosen words Harry drops the bomb-he's going to hunt for the Horcruxes with Hermione and Ronald in an attempt to destroy

Lord Voldemort, and he doesn't know when or if he'll

be back.

I pull my

hand away from his. "You're leaving me," I translate flatly. I know it sounds

selfish, but it's hard not to be upset. I don't look at him, instead turning to

watch the sun's reflection turn the lakes surface gold as it began to descend.

"It's not

like that," Harry says, reaching for me, but I take a step backwards, away from

him. Vexed, he sighs. This isn't going as planned, I'm sure. "Don't make it

harder for me than it already is. I don't want you to be in any danger."

"And I'm

not now?" I ask. I understand Harry's concern and his mission one hundred

percent, but did he really think I'd let him leave me now, after he told me he

loved me? After I felt my heart grow larger than I'd ever thought possible,

after I had told him too, that I loved him? Harry was my best friend. We

laughed and told each other stories and secrets, we did our homework together,

and we watched sunsets before Dinner, just like we were doing now...

"I know,"

he responded, taking my chin in his hands. I try to turn away, but Harry's grip

is soft but firm, and he locks his emerald eyes onto my moonstone-colored ones.

"That's why I wanted you to come with me."

It is the

second time in one day that Harry has surprised me with such an announcement,

and honestly I don't know if I can take another. I feel shell-shocked indeed,

and Harry sees his opening and rushes on. "Luna, I can't protect you if I can't

see you." He took a breath. "I sent an owl to your dad this morning. I'm

escorting you home tonight, and I plan to discuss it with him then. That is, if

you want to go with me," he added, lightly running his fingers down my chin

before releasing it from his hold.

"I do." My

tone is definite, and Harry seems heartened by my answer.

"It'll be

hard," he warned anyway, even though we both knew it was useless. "We don't

have much to go on and there's a good possibility that Voldemort

will be trying to kill me, even if he doesn't know what I plan to do. His

allies are everywhere. We can't count on anything."

"Tell me

something I don't know." My eyes are stinging, and I hope Harry doesn't notice

they are watering up. "I don't care,

Harry. I need you like you need me, and I'll follow you."

The grin

has found its way back to Harry's face, even if his eyes are still fairly

worried. I had to admit that I was a little scared too. Harry was right, it was

going to be very dangerous, but his mission was one that had to be done. If he

needed me in order to do that, I'd help him. I'll be there for him.

"Now let's

go talk to Daddy," I say resolutely, wrapping my hand around Harry's fingers

and beginning to lead him up the hill to the castle doors. "I hope he won't be

too disappointed about me not being able to see the Wrackspurts

in Finland with him over the holidays..." I add

lightly, leaning my head against his shoulder.

"I hope so

too," Harry agrees, kissing my forehead.

My

boyfriend is going to meet my father for the first time, but there are going to

be larger hurdles to jump. We can't be sure about everything, but that's simply

the way it's supposed to be, the way the universe works.

...Still, it

can't hurt to tell Harry there's Daddy is very fond of the Buttercreamier

Jumbo Mints sold at Honeydukes...

Fin. (Really!)


End file.
